Next reveals that median referral traffic from Google Search to publishers plummeted 10% between May and June 2025, with non-news brands suffering a 14% decline.
Major media outlets are reporting even more severe impacts. According to SimilarWeb data, platforms such as CNN, Business Insider, and HuffPost have seen traffic drops of 30% to 40%. Analysts attribute these losses directly to Google’s AI Overviews, which frequently present answers directly in the search results, reducing the incentive for users to click through to original sources.
The “Zero-Click” Search Controversy
Pew Research data indicates that since the launch of AI Overviews, click-through rates to external websites have dropped significantly. By March 2025, six in 10 U.S. adults reported using Google searches that resulted in AI-generated summaries rather than traditional links.
Industry leaders have been vocal about this shift. Neil Vogel, CEO of Dotdash Meredith (People Inc.), recently labeled Google a “bad actor,” arguing that the historic bargain—where Google indexed content in exchange for driving traffic—has been effectively broken. “That deal’s off,” Vogel stated at a recent industry event.
Google’s Response and Licensing Stance
Google maintains that its commitment to journalism remains intact. A company spokesperson stated: “The claim that this is due to a change in our commitment to news partnerships is patently false. Our partnerships regularly evolve, and we have partnerships in place with more than 2,800 publications worldwide, having made billions of dollars in payments to content providers.”
Unlike competitors such as OpenAI, which has actively secured content licensing deals with The Financial Times, News Corp, and Axel Springer, Google has moved slowly in this arena. While it holds an agreement with the Associated Press and a reported $60 million annual deal with Reddit, the search giant faces mounting pressure to formalize more licensing agreements as publishers push back against the “zero-click” environment.
While Google offers publishers the ability to opt out of AI training without losing search visibility, the tension between the tech titan and the news industry shows no signs of abating.