The impulse to simply read the AI overview of a Google search is a convenience many are willing to take. Today, Google launches ‘AI Mode’ in Australia, a move that continues to threaten the authority of online news publications.
Fewer readers are being directed to news articles with users only clicking on further results 8% of the time if an AI overview is provided. Most reputable Australian news websites are experiencing dwindling search traffic, despite the prevalence of unreliable and inaccurate information given by AI-generated summaries. Google warns that “as with any early stage AI product, AI mode doesn’t always get it right.”
With Google unlikely to step back from integrating AI in its search engines, the media must now adapt as the responsibility is placed upon audiences to consider accuracy over convenience.
Image: Image: Shutterstock – Koshiro K
Produced By: Amelia Crouch
Featured In Story: Dr Joanna Kuai, Research Fellow at RMIT School Media and Communication
First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 8 October 2025