Google’s AI answers reduced Wikipedia search visits, study finds

Google’s AI Overviews decreased search referrals to English Wikipedia by round 5%, in response to a University of Washington working paper revised September 2. However the analysis leaves an necessary query unanswered: does being cited in an AI reply assist a person web page retain guests?

Researchers in contrast English articles with their German and French counterparts round Google’s 2024 rollout. These comparisons produced estimated declines of 5.45% and 4.82%, respectively.

The figures describe adjustments in search referrals throughout the samples. The researchers didn’t observe which particular person searches displayed AI Overviews, so the research can’t set up the site visitors impact of showing inside one. Its causal interpretation additionally is dependent upon the comparability teams offering an inexpensive image of what would have occurred with out the rollout.

For publishers evaluating AI visibility, the sensible query ought to subsequently stay particular: which cited pages achieve visits, and what do these guests do? A quotation depend alone can’t reply that.