50% of Publishers Worry AI Will Cut Website Traffic

Although AI adoption in publishing is on the upswing, fragmentation remains, as revealed by Wunderkind’s 2025 Publisher State of the Union report. While experimentation is widespread (as both a tool to streamline workflows and as a disruptor threatening traditional traffic models), most publishers have yet to fully integrate AI into their strategies. And, regardless of if publishers are harnessing AI themselves, there’s no doubt that AI is creating real concerns when it comes to web traffic. 

• 30% use AI for content optimization and personalization and 32% are testing new formats — but 22% aren’t using AI at all.
• 50% are moderately concerned about generative AI reducing website traffic, with audience development (77%) and editorial teams most alarmed (55%)
• To address these challenges, 52% of publishers are focusing on increasing direct audience engagement, while only 18% are exploring content licensing agreements with AI companies and a mere 6% are using Answer Engine Optimization to structure content for AI visibility. 

Wunderkind notes, “Most publishers are reacting with defensible but limited strategies. To lead in an AI-mediated landscape, they must go further: adopt structured data to gain citation in AI summaries, invest in proprietary content that resists replication, and build resilient communities around newsletters and subscriptions. This moment demands innovation — not just insulation.”