Generative artificial intelligence assistants (AI) such as Chatgpt rneze on classic online research and deprive information sites of part of their traffic and their advertising recipes, a hard blow to a model already in bad shape.
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“The next three or four years will be incredibly difficult for press publishers worldwide, whatever their size,” warns Matt Karolian, vice-president of research and development within the Boston Globe Media group, publisher of the prestigious daily.
“The publishers must prepare their shelter,” he urges, “at the risk of being swept away otherwise”.
The figures are still rare, but a recent investigation by the Pew Research Center organization has shown that the genetive summary now produced regularly during a search on Google often dissuaded Internet users from going further.
They thus click half less often on the links offered than during a search without AI.
These are all visitors who do not go to online media sites, dependent on this channel for their advertising revenues and their subscriptions.
For John Wihbey, professor at Northeastern University, “this trend to slow down traffic” generated by old -fashioned search engines “will accelerate and, soon, the web will be a universe different from that we have known.”
The domination of some actors like Google or Meta had already reduced the advertising revenues of the online media, forcing them to emphasize paid content and subscriptions.
But, for John Wihbey, the subscriptions also depend on traffic, and “they are not sufficient to make major media via”.
“We are starting to see people subscribe via Chatgpt”, which offers a new point of contact with information, reports Matt Karolian, “but that remains incredibly modest compared to other platforms” of research, “even small engines”.
“And for the other AIA assistants, like Perplexity, it’s even less,” he says.
“Do the work”
To store in the Ocean IA, more and more companies use the Geo (Generative Engine Optimization), a technique that replaces SEO (Search Engine Optimization), referencing optimization method on conventional search engines.
Clearly labeled, well structured content, understandable by large AI models, presence on social networks and forums, are some of the geo keys.
“But the big question”, in the case of the media, “is to know if you let the extractors of content use on your site”, points Thomas Peham, boss of the young optimization company Otterlyai.
Scalded by the wild collection of many major actors in generative artificial intelligence, many press publishers have chosen to retaliate and prevent AI access to their content.
“We must make sure that companies that use our content pay him for fair value,” says Danielle Coffey who heads the professional organization News/Media Alliance.
Some agreements were concluded on this basis, between the New York Times and Amazon, Google and Associated Press or Mistral and the Agency France-Presse.
But it did not close the file, far from it, and several legal proceedings are underway, notably that of the New York Times against Openai and Microsoft.
However, the blocking strategy decreases, in fact, their presence in the responses of AI assistants.
Faced with this dilemma, “the leaders (of media) are choosing more and more often to reopen access,” observes Thomas Peham.
But even by opening the valves, success is not guaranteed.
According to Otterlyai, the media represent 29% of the quotes offered by Chatgpt, behind business sites (36%).
But the start -up company noted that if research at Google favored recognized as reliable sources, “we do not see this correlation at Chatgpt”.
According to the 2025 report of the Reuters Institute on Digital Information, some 15% of under 25 say they use generative AI to learn.
This filter, like that of social networks, is likely to blur the readers of readers as to the real origin of information and its value.
“At one point, someone has to do the job” of journalism, impatient Matt Karolian. “Without real journalism, these platforms will have nothing to summarize.”
Google is working on partnerships with information media to feed its generative AI features.
“I think the platforms will realize that they need the press,” said John Wihbey.