Google Zero and the click collapse

AI-powered search features from Google, such as AI Overviews and AI Mode, are increasingly delivering concise summaries directly in search results. Instead of clicking through to source articles, many readers are getting what they need from the AI output itself. The industry has given this phenomenon a blunt name: Google Zero.

The immediate impact on publishers

Publishers are seeing referral traffic evaporate even when they maintain or improve their traditional search rankings. Several outlets report declines approaching 50% in referral traffic, a paradoxical situation where visibility in search results no longer guarantees clicks or ad impressions. For advertising-driven sites, fewer pageviews mean smaller ad audiences and weaker CPMs.

Some publishers have reacted with alarm. Names like Immediate Media, People Inc, Newsquest, and Reach are prioritizing unique formats and trusted voices as a hedge against AI-driven displacement. The fear is not just about rankings, but about the upstream revenue model that relied on reader journeys from search to site.

Perplexity’s Comet Plus: a proposed lifeline

Amid the disruption, AI search startup Perplexity introduced Comet Plus, a program that sets aside $42.5 million to share revenue with publishers. Early terms promise to return 80% of subscription fees to creators whose material helps power AI summaries. For publishers, that resembles a dignified alternative to losing visibility without compensation.

The initiative arrives in a tense context: established publishers including Nikkei, NEWS Corp, and Dow Jones have accused Perplexity of using their content without authorization. Negotiations and licensing deals take time, and the model is not a fix-all. Nonetheless, revenue-sharing commitments from AI platforms could become an important piece of the new ecosystem.

How severe are the losses?

Third-party research points to dramatic traffic reductions in search result scenarios dominated by AI Overviews. Sites that would normally rank first have reportedly lost up to 79% of their traffic when AI summaries appear above organic links. Authoritas data cited by industry groups shows click-through rates falling by as much as 47.5%, depending on vertical and platform.

Those numbers translate into tangible business risks: advertisers measure reach, and reach is shrinking when search results satisfy user queries without sending them to source pages.

Strategies publishers are testing

Facing this shift, media companies are experimenting across several fronts:

• Building direct relationships: newsletters, membership programs, and events give publishers first-party access to readers rather than relying on search referrals.
• Diversifying formats: podcasts, live events, and multimedia storytelling create properties that are harder for simple AI summaries to replace.
• Doubling down on unique reporting: local coverage, investigative work, and deep niche expertise deliver value that AI struggles to synthesize effectively.
• Negotiating licensing or revenue-share deals: entering agreements with AI platforms to secure compensation for source material rather than having content consumed for free.

Many industry insiders emphasize brand trust and unique value as survival levers. In a world where algorithms mediate more of the user experience, human-driven credibility may become a decisive competitive advantage.

A changed playbook for media

The old SEO-centric playbook is losing its power. Success in the coming years will likely depend less on chasing ranking signals and more on cultivating direct audience relationships and content that resists commodification. For those willing to adapt, opportunities exist in paid products, exclusive content, and licensing arrangements. For those that cannot, the combination of AI summaries and shifting user behavior poses an existential challenge.