Google Discover Unveils AI Summaries, Presenting New Challenges for Publisher Traffic
As publishers express concern over dwindling traffic from Google, the search giant has started to introduce AI-generated summaries in Discover, the primary news feed within Google’s search app for iOS and Android. Users will now see multiple news publishers’ logos in the top-left corner, followed by an AI-created summary that attributes those sources, rather than just a headline from a major publication.
The app cautions that these summaries are AI-generated, which can result in inaccuracies.
Image Credits: Google
This feature isn’t yet available for all news articles within the Google app, suggesting that this change is still in testing. (Google has been approached for comments regarding the scope of the rollout, but has not yet replied.) In trials, TechCrunch was able to view the AI summaries firsthand on both iOS and Android versions in the U.S.
In addition to the summaries, Google has been exploring other methods to display the news featured in Discover. While not explicitly labeled as AI-powered, some stories include bullet points below the headline or are clustered with related news.
For example, a piece about President Trump’s Ukraine deal included links to other articles concerning Trump’s recent actions. Conversely, an article from The Washington Post regarding ICE was accompanied by bullet points that encapsulated the story’s key points.
Image Credits: Google
The update to the search app comes as several publishers have begun experimenting with AI on their own platforms, including The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo, Bloomberg, USA Today, and others. Startups like Particle have also engaged in these efforts, creating a news reader that utilizes AI not only to summarize articles but also to present various viewpoints or allow users to pose follow-up questions for clearer understanding of the discussed topics.
Despite these innovations, many in the publishing industry harbor significant concerns about how the shift toward AI is affecting website traffic and referrals. Features like Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode enable users to receive answers to their search inquiries without needing to visit a website directly—these can be summarized automatically or provided in a chatbot-like format. This trend is also evident in other AI applications, such as ChatGPT or Perplexity.
Recently, Google attempted to reassure publishers with the debut of Offerwall, a feature that enables them to generate revenue beyond traditional methods reliant on traffic, such as advertisements. With Offerwall, publishers utilizing Google Ad Manager can explore diverse options to grant access to their content, including micropayments, user surveys, newsletter sign-ups, ad viewings, and more.
However, for many publishers, these tools are arriving too late, as traffic has already been on a sharp decline.
An article by The Economist this week reported that global search traffic fell by 15% year-over-year as of June, referencing data from the market analysis firm Similarweb.
Previous data from Similarweb also indicated that the proportion of news search queries that resulted in no click-throughs to news websites increased from 56% in May 2024 when AI Overviews launched, to nearly 69% as of May 2025. Organic traffic has also reduced, decreasing from over 2.3 billion visits at its peak in mid-2024 to under 1.7 billion.
Amidst this transition, Google Discover continues to serve as a source for clicks, even as traffic from Google Search diminishes. However, this may no longer hold true if AI summaries are more widely implemented within the Google app.
