Category: In the News

Two trends are emerging in the world of AI and search: AI platforms are sending more traffic to publishers’ sites, while Google’s AI Overviews is reducing click-throughs across more search queries.

Recent data is helping to show the impact of AI tools and features on the search landscape and on referral traffic. And while it seems the percentage of queries triggering Google’s AI Overviews plateaued last month, “zero-click” searches are still on the rise.

However, the referral traffic from AI platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Perplexity still isn’t enough to offset the decline in search-driven visits. General search referral traffic to 1,000 web domains dipped from 12 billion global visits in June 2024 to 11.2 billion in June 2025 — about a 6.7% decline year over year, according to data from analytics company Similarweb.

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Linda Yaccarino had the title. She had the industry patter, the resume and the profile. What she didn’t have was control — or at least not the kind that mattered.

Her role was never about real power. It was about optics: a seasoned media executive instilled to calm brands and play the adult in the room while the walls burned. But this wasn’t just a case of being handed a no-win script. Yaccarino made her own choices too.

She defended the platform as advertisers fled. She echoed her boss Elon Musk’s talking points, sometimes twisting data and ducking responsibility. And she reportedly leaned into tactics that blurred ethical lines. She wasn’t just along for the ride. At times, she helped steer it. 

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