The Reuters Institute (RISJ) published a report on January 12, 2026, based on a survey of 280 media managers from 51 countries. The main conclusion: the industry is bracing for the "end of the traffic era." Publishers are recording a sharp drop in referrals from search engines due to the implementation of AI summaries (Search Generative Experience) and the popularity of chatbots that answer user questions without a click to the source.
This is a fundamental business model shift. While content was previously exchanged for attention and advertising, platforms are now absorbing information without giving back the audience. Experts predict a mass migration of media to direct subscription models, newsletters, and the creation of protected "walls" (paywalls) inaccessible to AI scraping.
Source: The Guardian / Reuters InstituteMediaJournalismSEOBusiness ModelAI Impact
