The Digiday Podcast How AI rewrites search for publishers
11 snips
Sep 9, 2025 Jessica Davies and Sara Guaglione, both senior media experts at Digiday, dive into how AI is dramatically reshaping the search landscape for publishers. They discuss the rise of AI chatbots in online search and the implications for traffic and engagement metrics. The conversation touches on Google's legal challenges, Apple's push for its own AI search engine, and the call for regulatory action regarding new AI tools like Gemini. They explore how publishers can adapt to these rapid changes and the importance of maintaining quality in journalism.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Apple Eyes AI Search As Defensive Play
- Apple is reportedly building an AI-powered search engine which could compete with mid-tier AI search players.
- The move may be defensive to reduce Apple's payments to Google for default search status.
Publishers Want Gemini Included In Probe
- UK publishers want the CMA to include Google's Gemini in its search probe because AI assistants function like next-gen search.
- Including Gemini would strengthen publishers' leverage for compensation if AI replaces referral traffic.
AI Overviews Correlate With Traffic Drops
- Publishers are seeing measurable drops in referral traffic tied to AI features like AI Overviews.
- Lack of transparency from Google and limited measurement makes causation hard to prove.
