Season 7, Episode 25: Quantifying the impact of AI Overviews on outbound clicks (with Ananya Sen and Saharsh Agarwal)

On this week's episode of the podcast, I am joined by Ananya Sen and Saharsh Agarwal to discuss their research on the impact of Google's AI Overviews on web publisher traffic. We explore the results of their field experiment, currently in pre-print, which utilized a custom browser extension to measure how generative search results influence outbound clicks and user satisfaction. The results of the field experiment suggest a significant reduction in traffic for certain queries, challenging the narrative that these interfaces only filter out low-quality interactions. We dive into the implications for the broader web ecosystem, including the risks posed to smaller publishers and the role of data licensing deals. Among other things, we discuss:How generative search interfaces might fundamentally alter the symbiotic relationship between search engines and the publishers who provide their dataWhether the removal of low-quality clicks truly compensates publishers for the overall decline in traffic driven by AI-generated summariesWhat happens to smaller publishers when major outlets secure exclusive data licensing deals that prioritize their content in search resultsWhy AI Mode represents a potential endpoint for search that could essentially eliminate outbound traffic for a majority of queriesWhether the long-tail of the internet can survive a transition where search engines become information destinations rather than mere conduitsThanks to the sponsors of this week’s episode of the Mobile Dev Memo podcast:⁠⁠INCRMNTAL⁠⁠⁠. True attribution measures incrementality, always on.Xsolla⁠. With the Xsolla Web Shop, you can create a direct storefront, cut fees down to as low as 5%, and keep players engaged with bundles, rewards, and analytics.⁠Branch⁠. Branch is an AI-powered MMP, connecting every paid, owned, and organic touchpoint so growth teams can see exactly where to put their dollars to bring users in the door and keep them coming backInterested in sponsoring the Mobile Dev Memo podcast? Contact Mobile Dev Memo advertising.The Mobile Dev Memo podcast is available on:SpotifyYouTubeApple Podcasts