17-05-2025
AI and social media ‘killing' websites, publishers warned
Publishers have been warned that the 'website is dying' as it struggles to cater to audience expectations in the face of competition from new digital formats.
The findings were revealed by Enders Analysis, a research company, which attributed the falling number of click-throughs to 'an onslaught' from social media platforms and artificial intelligence summaries produced by search engines.
Half of publishers polled reported a decline in search traffic over the past year.
'Search traffic is no longer a given,' Douglas McCabe, a media analyst, said in the Rewriting the Media Playbook report.
'Many publishers have used their websites to replicate the article format. But the website itself is no longer the primary destination for consumers as it struggles to meet expectations, while AI erodes monetisation.'
