[News] Google AI changes could deal further blow to publisher Discover traffic

Google is now swapping publisher links in its Discover feed for AI‑generated two‑sentence summaries that bundle multiple outlets under a single thumbnail, a change first flagged by Reach’s Nicola Agius after a cluster of 14 sites covering a Jennifer Lopez story was reduced to a single People.com link. The move, following earlier Discover tweaks that favoured X and YouTube content, has slashed referral traffic for many publishers, though some, like The Times, still report a 30% year‑on‑year rise driven by original, hard‑news pieces. SEO experts on a London Audience Club panel warned the AI overviews often miss story nuances and urged publishers to boost video output and cultivate Preferred Sources—Google’s new setting that lets users prioritise trusted sites—to regain clicks. They also highlighted rising spam and the need to educate readers about these tools.