GfK DAM, the measurement provider recommended by the industry, invited a group of journalists to review the impact of generative AI and chatbots in Spain using data from its digital measurement. The data could not be clearer and shows that users still want to stay informed, but not so much through the media outlets themselves. And unfortunately, the bad news does not end here…
(more…)AI Overviews
AI Overviews are unbearable
I have spent some time denouncing Google’s excesses in Google Search, specifically those created with AI Overviews, which are already causing so many layoffs and media outlet closures all over the world. It is obvious to everyone that Google is a de facto monopoly that finally has a decent competitor (OpenAI and Anthropic afterwards) and perhaps that is why it is acting in a rather reprehensible way. In this context, I sometimes come across some AI Overviews that are quite outrageous.
(more…)Artificial intelligence is already affecting the revenue of the WordPress commercial plugin community
At WP Product Talk, a small study was carried out with a very small sample, but one that may be highly significant, on the impact of creating code, themes and plugins with AI on the WordPress ecosystem, specifically on developers who sell plugins.
(more…)A new study confirms that your traffic drop is not only due to AI Overviews, there is something else
We have spoken at length about Google AI Overviews and how they are taking a significant amount of organic traffic away from the open web by providing answers based on sources of questionable credibility and containing errors. Well, SEO expert Aleyda Solís warns us that there is more going on in Google Search thanks to a study.
(more…)The best free paywall for your digital newspaper
If you are looking for how to bypass this or that newspaper’s paywall, you can go back the way you came, because this article is not about that, but about how to enable or create a free paywall for a digital newspaper, and which is the best one if you have hardly any budget (for big media outlets and press organizations there are several paid options available with different prices).
(more…)Google’s decisions start to have consequences for CMS and DXP companies
Google’s latest decisions, given its de facto monopoly position in many digital domains, are starting to have consequences. The situation, in general, in the world of journalism at major outlets, with a few exceptions, is one of depression and weariness after the arrival of AI Overviews, the growing prominence of AI Mode, changes in Google Discover and the latest Google update, which has once again reduced traffic for many outlets in Google Search.
(more…)Google Search tests a new feature to choose sources for the Top Stories section
Google tests many things and not all of them end up working or being rolled out worldwide. In this case, it has been reported that they are testing in the United States and India a new feature that allows for a bit of personalization in the Google Search Top Stories module, one that traditionally stood out for sending a lot of traffic to media outlets, but which nowadays is also affected by AI Overviews.
(more…)First major lawsuit in Europe against Google over its use of AI in its search engine
It finally seems something is shifting over AI Overviews and Google’s latest exercise of market power. Reuters has exclusively revealed that a group of independent publishers has filed an antitrust complaint, largely because there is no effective way to opt-out of Google’s AI without completely destroying traffic from Google Search.
(more…)How to access AI overviews data
Google does not provide figures for its AI Overviews because it claims the project is still liable to change. The truth, however, is that the data would not work in its favour, even though the company could publish them in the not-too-distant future. All that changes now thanks to Sistrix: content creators no longer have to wait for Google’s goodwill, because these metrics are already within reach.
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