AI Answers, Fewer Visits? What Google And Reddit’s Reports Suggest

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Alphabet said on Oct. 28 that rapid growth in Google AI Mode queries was affecting monetization because those queries earned less than traditional search activity, while the company’s Search revenue still grew 12% to $63.35 billion in the third quarter. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman separately said AI Mode does not drive traffic to Reddit or, as far as he knew, to other sites, sharpening questions about whether AI answers can satisfy users while reducing the visits that support publishers and businesses.

Alphabet business chief Philipp Schindler made the comment during the company’s earnings call, responding to an analyst who asked why search activity was growing at its fastest pace in five years while revenue growth had slowed. Schindler listed currency movements as the largest factor in the slowdown relative to the previous quarter, followed by changes in retail and media advertising. He then said strong growth in AI Mode queries had an impact because of their lower monetization. He did not give a dollar amount or estimate the revenue effect.

The distinction matters: Google acknowledged a pressure on monetization, not a decline in Search revenue. The reported 12% year-over-year increase means revenue continued to rise, even as the company cited factors that restrained its growth. Alphabet shares fell 12.6% on Oct. 29, their steepest single-day decline since the company listed in 2004, according to Fortune. Reports placed the reduction in market value between about $475 billion and $500 billion; a 15% closing decline was not supported by the cited market reports.

Other financial concerns were also in play. CNBC reported that Alphabet recorded negative free cash flow of $9.1 billion, compared with analysts’ expectation of roughly negative $2.7 billion, and spent $51.4 billion on data centers and chips during the quarter. Those figures provide additional context for the share decline; the available reporting does not establish that AI Mode alone caused it.

The Cost of Answering Without a Click

AI answers can change the economics of search even if the number of searches rises. If users get what they need directly from an answer, they may click fewer links to publishers, forums or retailers. For publishers that rely on search referrals, fewer visits can mean less advertising income or fewer opportunities to convert readers into subscribers. For merchants, a customer who receives product information or completes a purchase without visiting a store’s website may be harder to reach through established channels.

Available evidence suggests a traffic risk, but does not settle its scale across the web. Chartbeat data cited in the source material show Google Search’s share of pageviews across its publisher network falling from about 9% in July 2024 to 5% in July 2026. Pew Research Center measured clicks on a search result in 8% of visits when an AI summary appeared, compared with 15% when one did not. These figures describe different samples and measures; they should not be treated as proof that AI summaries caused all of the change.

The stakes extend beyond referrals. Google says it is developing ways to place ads within AI experiences, and its checkout standard reportedly covers hundreds of thousands of brands. If search becomes a place where users receive answers and transact without visiting external sites, businesses may need to adapt how they reach customers and measure results. Whether that shift creates new commercial value or mainly redirects value from websites remains unsettled.

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How Google Framed the Revenue Slowdown

Schindler’s remarks came during an earnings discussion about a mismatch: Google reported its fastest search-query growth in five years, but Search revenue growth had slowed compared with the prior quarter. He named three contributors: foreign exchange effects, reduced or normalized spending in parts of retail and media, and lower monetization from fast-growing AI Mode queries. He described exchange rates as the single largest driver of the deceleration relative to the second quarter.

Google has also described AI Mode queries as longer than standard searches—three times longer, according to the source material—and said the company plans to add more advertising within AI answers. In July, Google said its AI features sent billions of clicks to websites each week. The October earnings call, however, did not provide a new traffic figure for AI Mode. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman’s contrasting assessment was a company executive’s statement, not a comprehensive measurement of traffic across all websites.

The source material also points to regulatory and industry responses. UK rules require Google to offer an AI opt-out, the European Union is investigating, and five French publisher groups filed a complaint on Oct. 29. Google is also reported to have licensing arrangements with more than 400 publications through a pilot. These developments show that access to content, referral traffic and compensation are active points of dispute, though their outcomes are not yet known.

“The strong growth in AI Mode queries had an impact because of the lower monetization we were seeing in AI Mode.”

— Philipp Schindler, Google business chief, on Alphabet’s Oct. 28 earnings call

The Missing Traffic and Revenue Measures

Google has not disclosed how much revenue it earns from an AI Mode query compared with a traditional search, or how much the lower monetization reduced growth in the quarter. The company also did not provide an AI Mode-specific measure of clicks to external websites on the earnings call. Its July statement about billions of weekly clicks covered its AI features broadly, not necessarily AI Mode alone.

It is also unclear how much of the reported decline in publishers’ Google referral share is attributable to AI summaries rather than other changes in search use, audience behavior or the composition of Chartbeat’s network. Pew’s click-through comparison captures an association between summaries and lower click rates; it does not by itself establish the cause of the difference. Reddit’s remarks are likewise not a site-wide audit. The available figures do not show the net effect on all publishers, merchants or users.

More Data and Policy Decisions Ahead

Readers and businesses can expect further detail as Google reports future results and expands advertising or checkout features in AI experiences. A clearer assessment will require comparable figures for AI Mode usage, revenue per query and referrals to outside sites, tracked over time. Without those measures, the company’s acknowledgment confirms a direction of impact but not its size.

Regulatory reviews and publisher complaints may also shape how Google’s AI products use content and whether users or publishers receive options or compensation. For now, the confirmed picture is narrower: AI Mode is growing quickly and monetizes at a lower rate, Search revenue rose in the quarter, and the traffic and financial consequences for outside websites remain incompletely measured.

Key Questions

Did Google say AI Mode caused Search revenue to fall?

No. Google said fast-growing AI Mode queries had lower monetization, which affected revenue growth. Search revenue still increased 12% to $63.35 billion in the third quarter.

How much revenue does Google lose from AI Mode?

Google did not provide a dollar figure or quantify the effect on revenue. Schindler named AI Mode as one of several factors behind slower growth and said currency movements were the largest driver of the deceleration relative to the previous quarter.

Did AI Mode cause Alphabet’s share price to fall?

Alphabet Class A shares fell 12.6% on Oct. 29, according to Fortune. The source material also reports concerns about free cash flow and heavy spending on data centers and chips; it does not establish that AI Mode alone caused the decline.

Does Google’s AI search reduce website traffic?

Some cited evidence points to fewer clicks when AI summaries appear, and Reddit’s CEO said AI Mode did not send traffic to Reddit. But the available data do not show the effect across all websites or establish that AI summaries caused every observed change in referral traffic.

Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com