Imagine this: you’re at a lavish buffet, where the appetizers are on one side, mains on another, and desserts all the way at the end. You’ve barely sat down when a waiter swoops in with a plate full of every single dessert. “Why bother walking to the dessert station when you can have it all right here?” he grins. This is a bit like what AI is doing to online publishing.

In the golden age of the internet, users would traverse the digital buffet of websites, each one offering a tasty morsel of information. Publishers crafted their sites like five-star restaurants, each with their own special sauce to entice you to stay and savor every bite. But now, AI and ChatGPT is like that overly helpful waiter, delivering all the choice tidbits directly to the user’s table (a.k.a. chat window or search results). The result? Fewer folks are strolling through the aisles of online publishers’ sites. Let’s dig into this curious phenomenon.

The Rise of the AI Waiter

AI, with its charming eloquence and vast repository of knowledge, has become the ultimate concierge of the internet. Ask it anything from “What’s the capital of Timbuktu?” to “How do you fix a leaky faucet?” to “Put together a meal plan for a vegan that still eats chicken” and it promptly serves up the answer with a side of flair. For users, this is a dream come true. They no longer need to hop from one site to another; instead, they get a neat, concise response in one go. It’s like having Google, Wikipedia, and your favorite advice columnist all rolled into one delightful chatbot.

Couple this with the latest announcement from Apple on their “Apple Intelligence” that is soon to be integrated into Siri this fall – this waiter no longer has its own private living quarters down in the basement of some app or browser tab. But it’s soon to be front and center everywhere you go, poised with bated breath to fulfill your next command (and probably already has an answer because it was listening before you even asked).

Publishers: The Lonely Chefs in the Back

While users are reveling in the convenience, online publishers are feeling a bit like chefs who’ve been outmaneuvered by the waiter. Historically, traffic to their sites was their bread and butter. Each click meant potential ad revenue, subscriber growth, or at the very least, a little ego boost from their visitor stats. But as more users turn to AI and ChatGPT for quick answers, the virtual foot traffic to these sites is dwindling. It’s akin to diners getting their fill from the dessert plate without ever visiting the restaurant’s famed dessert bar.

Some publishers have seen more than an 80% reduction in pageviews between Google algorithm changes and AI in the last year.  Generally speaking, we’ve seen a 25% reduction in pageviews across all publishers in the first half of 2024 alone.

Will the Chefs Adapt or Close Shop?

Faced with this conundrum, publishers are grappling with how to keep the diners coming back. Some are doubling down on exclusive content that AI/ChatGPT can’t quite replicate—think detailed investigative pieces, quirky opinion articles, or interactive multimedia experiences. Others are exploring early configurations with AI tools, feeding snippets that might link back to their full articles in later iterations of chat results, like a teaser that whets the appetite but leaves the user craving more. 

Creating your own original content is a way to push back on the trends toward AI content. We see sites regularly turned away by our premium ad providers for having content and sites that are obviously AI-generated or made for advertising. As AI becomes increasingly popular, material written by real humans FOR real humans continues to be valued higher by advertisers. Your originality and ingenuity sharing your passion will never be able to be replicated by a machine.

There’s also a growing trend of “AI-resistant” content strategies. Publishers are focusing on hyper-local news, niche communities, and real-time updates—areas where AI and ChatGPT’s broad-brush knowledge may not yet reach. It’s the equivalent of offering a dish so unique that even the best waiter couldn’t replicate it without sending the diner straight to the source.

Additionally, there is also the strategy of putting content behind a login or pay-gate. Essentially making the content unavailable to content scraping bots and keeping their content uniquely available. Just like a hoity-toity restaurant that requires a reservation booked months in advance.  It’s not for everyone – but there is still a market. If you are verifying users, there are things we can do at Monumetric to drastically improve your ad revenue through informing advertisers that the user is a verified human.

Embracing the Future: The Waiter and the Chef Coexist

Eventually, there must be a balance struck.  The waiter needs chefs who are the sources of the dessert. But if the chef stops getting paid for their work, then the love of cooking will only take them so far before the incentive is gone. Hopefully as AI matures it will be more common for it to link back to the rich, flavorful articles. This way, users get their quick fix, but are also tempted to explore the full course. But many fear this will favor the top publishers even more and create an even greater challenge for aspiring new content creators.  

In this brave new world, the successful online publishers will be those who can strike a balance—embracing the convenience of the waiter while still offering a dining experience that is unparalleled. They’re like the chefs who’ve realized that while the waiter might bring the desserts, only they can offer the ambiance, the service, and the full culinary journey.

So, next time you get your question answered by an AI or ChatGPT, spare a thought for those diligent publishers who created the content behind those results.

The Digital Dining Experience Redefined

AI and ChatGPT have changed the way we snack on information. We are seeing a marked shift of users wanting to be fed content instead of seeking it. Yes, it hasn’t diminished the value of a well-crafted online experience. Publishers, like master chefs, will need to continue to innovate, ensuring that while AI and ChatGPT serve up quick bites, the full feast is still found (and sought after) in the rich pages of their sites. After all, who doesn’t love an indulgent meal?