How is Google addressing publisher concerns over AI search?
Google has launched a pilot program that pays publishers for their contributions to its AI-powered search features, according to a report from The Information. The pilot program reportedly includes around 100 publishers and comes as Google faces scrutiny over the impact of its AI features on web traffic.
Digiday first reported on the pilot program, which began less than a year ago. As part of the test, Google is reportedly paying participating publishers for how much their content contributed to AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search, as well as its Gemini chatbot. One publisher that joined the program when it first started earned over $1 million in a year, while another that joined a few months ago has earned around $50,000 to $60,000, The Information reports.
What is the impact of AI search on web traffic?
Google’s AI-focused search changes have not only drawn criticism and lawsuits from publishers, but also from regulators around the globe. In June, the UK ruled that Google must allow publishers to opt out of appearing in AI search features, while the European Union opened an investigation into its impact on web traffic and recently ordered it to make changes to its search engine.
In a related development, Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone discussed his company’s plan to improve AI search with more links to publishers. Lanzone said Yahoo will launch more personalized, agentic products “in the months ahead” and that its AI answer engine, Yahoo Scout, uses a lightweight model to process Yahoo’s own data and links back to the publishers its answers come from.
Lanzone made the case for AI answers to carry many more links, like a Wikipedia entry, and that click-through rates would rise. He said this approach could be copied by other companies as the UI for AI answer engines. Yahoo has also seen growth with Gen Z and millennials, particularly with its Finance platform, which has over 150 million monthly visitors worldwide.
The move by Google and Yahoo comes as the industry shifts from “the AI wars to the agent wars” and companies look for ways to improve their AI search features while also addressing concerns from publishers and regulators.
This article was written with the assistance of AI.
News Factory APP - agentic news to boost your SEO & AEO.