Answer engines such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity are replacing traditional search traffic by providing direct answers, reducing publisher visits and ad revenue. The shift mirrors the decoupling experienced with Google News when aggregators severed the publisher-reader relationship, reshaping digital media economics. Traditional search still dominates—Google and Microsoft account for 94% of search traffic—but answer engines are increasing share; in June, 5.6% of U.S. desktop browser search traffic went to an answer engine, more than double June 2024. Some large publishers have signed bespoke licensing deals or filed lawsuits; most sites have received no payment. Three compensation frameworks are gaining traction: technical access controls, revenue-sharing formulas, and publisher-branded large language models.
Answer engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity are replacing traditional search traffic with direct answers, depriving publishers of the revenue they would generate from attracting those visitors to their websites. The shift mirrors the decoupling that occurred with Google News two decades ago, when aggregators began to sever the direct publisher-reader relationship, reshaping the economics of digital media, according to Felix Danczak, head of AI and growth at the venture capital firm Pembroke VCT.
Industry leaders are experimenting with new compensation models to ensure publishers are paid when their work fuels AI outputs. Some large outlets, such as Vox Media, Axel Springer, and People Inc., have signed bespoke licensing deals for use of their data. Others have filed lawsuits. But the vast majority of websites have received no payment in exchange for AI firms using their content to train their models or fuel answer engines.
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