The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots is profoundly changing the Internet ecosystem, especially with unprecedented challenges for publishers and content creators. Chatbots of technology giants such as OpenAI and Google are gradually replacing the functions of traditional search engines by directly providing information, resulting in a significant reduction in website traffic. This trend has not only affected the news publishing industry, but also has a profound impact on the entire digital content ecosystem.
According to Forbes, the latest research data from content licensing platform TollBit shows that AI chatbots bring an astonishing 96% less traffic to publisher websites than traditional search engines. Although companies such as OpenAI and Perplexity have promised to increase traffic by working with the media, the reality is very different from expectations. This kind of traffic loss is undoubtedly a huge blow to publishers who rely on advertising revenue.
TollBit conducted an in-depth analysis of traffic data from 160 news and blog publishers and found that in the fourth quarter of 2024, AI companies' robots crawled these websites on average as many as 2 million times, with an average of about 7 crawlings per page. This frequent crawling behavior is called "click theft", which directly leads to a significant decline in publishers' advertising revenue. TollBit CEO Toshit Panigrahi pointed out: "Every time a user asks a question, a large number of robots will hit these websites, and the demand for publishers' content should not be underestimated." This trend not only affects publishers' revenue, but also poses serious challenges to the sustainability of content creation.
Although AI chatbots usually attach source links when answering questions, they also provide a summary of crawling content, and users can get the information they need without clicking on the link. This convenience further weakens publisher traffic, making it difficult for content creators to get the reward they deserve through advertising or subscription models. Educational technology company Chegg is a typical victim of this phenomenon.
Chegg recently filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing its AI overview feature of "seriously" hurting the company's advertising revenue. Chegg CEO Nathan Schultz admitted on the earnings call that Google used Chegg's content to keep users on its platform, causing Chegg's traffic to be blocked and the company's profits to plummet. Faced with this dilemma, Chegg is considering privatization or sale and has hired Goldman Sachs for a strategic assessment. Meanwhile, Chegg commissioned Susman Godfrey to file a lawsuit against Google. The law firm partner Ian Crosby said Google's AI overview feature "threats the entire Internet ecosystem" and that the lawsuit could have a profound impact on the relationship between AI and content creators.
This phenomenon is not limited to Chegg, and more and more publishers are facing an AI-driven traffic crisis. With the continuous development of AI technology, the landscape of the digital content industry may undergo fundamental changes. Publishers and content creators need to rethink how to survive and develop in the AI era, while technology companies also need to find a balance between technological innovation and content ecological protection.