This research, launched in July 2026 via three articles in Press Gazette, was conceived to provide publishers with an understanding of the impacts of generative AI (GAI) on their audiences’ behaviours and the resultant referral traffic, including the precise impact of GAI on specific content topics and types, aggregated across a broad cross section of websites. Such granular data enables publishers to make strategic decisions on how to allocate output and resources towards the content that is most resilient to referral and engagement pressure.

Along with its comprehensive analysis of actual declines and their impact, this groundbreaking research also provides deeper insights than previously available into how audience behaviours are changing as a result of their relationship with GAI search interfaces and chatbots. Amidst considerable doomsday noise surrounding the industry at this time of intense disruption, this research aims to cut through the chaos and provide a grounded perspective from which publishers can chart their future and minimise the harmful impacts of GAI proliferation.

The premium publishing community creates content of immense value to the public. It is also evidently of immense value to AI companies, not just in providing training data, but in the trust that audiences have in the publications sourced by AI which, as the research reveals, directly correlates to their trust in the answers it provides. The current relationship between publishers and AI platforms is clearly interdependent but it is not yet mutually beneficial. For the sake of both parties, this must change.

Access the three articles below, including links to the published versions on Press Gazette.

For more information about the study, contact your member representative.