Google just updated its algorithm. The Internet will never be the same

(Note: Matthew Keys, publisher of the tech and media news site The Desk, tells the BBC his website “suffered from tremendous traffic loss” due to Google’s updates, but the drop was closer to 75-80%, not the 98.9% estimate reported by Semrush.)

But the biggest offence, according to the website owners and content creators who spoke to the BBC, is the AI generated responses.

Google argues its AI overviews in search results will be a boon to websites. Liz Reid, Google’s head of search, wrote in a blog post that the company’s AI search results actually increase traffic that Google sends to websites. “AI Overviews get more clicks than if the page had appeared as a traditional web listing for that query,” Reid wrote. “As we expand this experience, we’ll continue to focus on sending valuable traffic to publishers and creators.” However, the company hasn’t shared any of the data backing up that claim, and many website owners and industry experts worry the opposite effect is just as likely.

Katie Berry, owner of the cleaning advice website Housewife How-Tos, assumes users will just end their searches if Google’s AI answers questions for them. The AI search results “answer questions superficially, and often incorrectly, so people don’t visit my site,” Berry says. According to Berry, her site’s traffic fell 70% after the 2022 Google update and dropped even further after Google started testing its new AI. “My site had more traffic in its first months of existence than it gets now, even though my rankings have not changed all that much,” she says.

Others, such as travel writer David Leiter, say the potential consequences are especially problematic because they feel Google’s AI is outright stealing their content.

For example, Leiter says a search for “Best Slot Canyons Near Las Vegas” used to bring up an article on his website, World Travel Guy. However, a search earlier this week brought up an AI-generated response at the top of the page instead.

“Google has replaced my article with the giant AI Overview box, and it spits out an answer that is mostly wrong,” Leiter says. “The first four places it lists are not even slot canyons. A slot canyon is a specific type of canyon with a narrow passageway, but the AI doesn’t understand that. It’s just listing random canyons and even a walking trail instead.” The AI Overview did include a link to Leiter’s article, but only if you took the time to click a tiny arrow at the bottom of the result. Leiter says he doesn’t believe he’ll get more traffic than he used to as the top search result. In either case, it’s a small consolation. Leiter says Google’s recent algorithm updates erased 95% of his traffic.

Google acknowledges that AI tools may provide inaccurate information, but says it’s constantly working to improve results. A Google spokesperson says AI Overviews are generally taken from multiple webpages, not single sources, and the responses are designed to highlight relevant links. The spokesperson says publishers can use a special tag on their webpages to control whether or not AI Overviews includes a link to their sites. However, once an AI model scrapes your content, it may be impossible to remove that data.

Media executives aren’t the only ones questioning Google’s control of the internet. Google is simultaneously battling numerous antitrust lawsuits against different parts of the company’s sprawling £1.7tn ($2.2tn) business. The company is currently awaiting a decision in a lawsuit brought by the US Department of Justice accusing Google of running an illegal monopoly in the search engine industry. If the tech giant loses the case, the penalties could range from massive fines to a forced break-up of the company.

Google, which controls more than 90% of the worldwide search business, argues that the company’s success stems solely from the fact that it makes superior products. A Google spokesperson says the company faces “immense competition” and people have many choices about how they search for information online.

“I understand that Google doesn’t owe us or anyone else traffic,” says Navarro, of HouseFresh. “But Google controls the roads. If tomorrow they decide the roads won’t go to an entire town, that town dies. It’s too much power to just shrug and say, ‘Oh well, it’s just the free market,'” she says.

“I might just try working in the offline world, just pack it all up and tend a shop somewhere,” says Navarro. “Maybe it was naive to think we could succeed just by making great original content that people want to read.”

* This article was updated on Monday 27 May to add further information on The Desk’s traffic drop.

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