UK publishers warn of an existential threat as google’s AI overviews cut clickthroughs and fuel legal complaints
Jul 24, 2025
A new study has found that Google’s AI Overviews, which display summarized answers at the top of search results, can reduce clickthroughs to news sites by up to 80%. Publishers warn that the change threatens the survival of independent journalism, while Google defends the feature as part of a broader shift in user behavior.
Key takeaways
- Severe traffic losses: Authoritas found sites ranked first could lose about 79% of their traffic when pushed below an AI overview.
- Publisher concerns: UK media outlets report dramatic clickthrough drops, with MailOnline seeing declines of more than 50%.
- Legal action: A complaint to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority accuses Google of unfairly using publishers’ content to fuel its AI products.
- Google’s response: The company disputes the findings, calling the studies flawed and claiming overall web traffic has not significantly dropped.
- Broader implications: Critics argue AI Overviews keep users within Google’s ecosystem, undermining independent journalism and threatening the viability of quality news.
Get the full story at The Guardian
