AOP News

AOP CRUNCH: Converting scrolling into revenue and audience growth

The world has changed, and online publishers need to change with it. Reuters’ 2026 Digital News Report found that 52% of under 35s treat social media, video networks, or AI chatbots as their primary news source. Publishers must master platforms beyond their websites if they want to reach people where they are and remain relevant, writes Richard Reeves.

AOP News | Research

The LLM Catch-22: User Trust in AI Depends on Sources That Don’t Get Clicks

Without publisher content, artificial intelligence is not very intelligent at all. While many publishers may look at the declines in referral traffic since the proliferation of AI and feel despair, we must remember the value that we have. It is our intellectual property that “teaches” the same LLMs that are now powering interfaces that syphon our traffic.

AOP News | Research

From Web Surfing to Staying Put: AI Interfaces Lock in Users to Publishers’ Peril

Will we see web surfing become a forgotten skill in our lifetimes? Use of AI search and chat interfaces is more than a mere change in the format in which information is presented, they alter user behaviour from active exploration towards accepting what is given.

AOP News | Research

Strategies for Publisher Survival as AI Syphons Search Engine Referrals

Search referral traffic is in decline due to increasing usage of AI. This has been common knowledge among online publishers since the proliferation of chat interfaces and generated summaries in search results, and we now have concrete data to prove it with the AOP’s newly launched ‘Artificial Intelligence Publisher Impact Study’.

AOP News | Ask the Associates

Eleven ways publishers can get the most out of curated marketplaces

Are curated marketplaces the future of premium digital publishing – or are they just another layer in an already complex ad tech stack? Regardless as to the answer, it seems likely that curated marketplaces are here to stay. We challenged our Associate members to share what they believe publishers need to hear right now to adapt to the rise in curated marketplaces – and how they can ensure they receive maximum value from their investment.

New research reveals AI answers only as trusted as the newsbrands they cite

Publishers face a troubling AI trust paradox: the more trusted the source, the more likely users are to accept an AI-generated answer without clicking through. The final article in our three-part series explores why the current relationship between publishers and AI platforms is unsustainable – and why tech companies must act.

AOP News | Research

Digital Publisher Revenues Saw 4.55% YoY Decline in Q1 2026, AOP and Deloitte Data Reveals

The latest Digital Publishers’ Revenue Index (DPRI) from the Association of Online Publishers (AOP) and Deloitte reveals that participants’ revenues decreased by 4.55% year-on-year (YoY) in Q1 2026, following four quarters of consecutive growth. A 5.06% increase in display advertising revenues, a category that has shown a recent upswing, was offset by declines across an array of smaller streams and flat subscription growth.

Unreliable AI answers are ‘good enough’ for most users of platforms

AOP’s Artificial Intelligence Publisher Impact Study reveals how users behave across different AI platforms – and exposes the trust paradox facing premium publishers as audiences increasingly find answers without clicking through to the original source.

Google search traffic to leading UK publishers set to halve by Q3 2027

It’s common knowledge that search traffic is in decline due to increasing usage of AI. But now, we have the concrete data to prove it. Over the last year, the AOP has been working to understand how artificial intelligence is impacting publishers, where referral declines are most concentrated, and where there are pockets of resilience. Discover our top line findings here.