Google’s AI Overviews feature has led to a significant increase in “zero clicks” to search queries, drastically reducing traffic to news websites. According to SimilarWeb data, the percentage of web searches related to news that end without a click to a news site jumped to 69% in May 2025 from 56% last year. This decline in “click-through rates” has resulted in overall organic traffic to news sites sinking to under 1.7 billion visits in May 2025, down from a peak of over 2.3 billion in mid-2024.
The rise of AI-generated summaries is causing users to consume news directly through these tools, bypassing traditional publishers entirely. Landing high on Google’s search page results and using traditional SEO strategies are no longer delivering the same value for news publishers. The surge in “zero clicks” highlights how users are increasingly relying on AI-driven sources of news.
While OpenAI’s ChatGPT has seen a significant increase in referrals to news sites, even this trend is not compensating for the drop in traffic from Google. The report suggests that the shift may indicate a user preference for deeper engagement through AI tools rather than reactive information. To address this issue, Google recently introduced Offerwall, a tool allowing publishers to test monetization options beyond traditional ad-driven models.
However, despite these efforts, the media industry continues to face challenges, including layoffs and economic pressure brought on by AI’s rapid adoption. The future of news publishing remains uncertain as it navigates this changing landscape.
Source: https://nypost.com/2025/07/03/media/google-ai-tools-depressing-traffic-to-news-sites-report