‘Existential crisis’: how Google’s shift to AI has upended the online news model

ICYMI: Media sites are taking action on several fronts as traffic referrals dry up and AI companies plunder their content

When the chief executive of the Financial Times suggested at a media conference this summer that rival publishers might consider a “Nato for news” alliance to strengthen negotiations with artificial intelligence companies there was a ripple of chuckles from attendees.

Yet Jon Slade’s revelation that his website had seen a “pretty sudden and sustained” decline of 25% to 30% in traffic to its articles from readers arriving via internet search engines quickly made clear the serious nature of the threat the AI revolution poses. Continue reading…
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