Google’s AI Mode Earns Less As Reddit Says AI Answers Send No Traffic

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Google’s AI Mode queries are growing quickly but generate less revenue per query than the search activity they are replacing or complementing, Alphabet business chief Philipp Schindler told investors on October 28. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said the product does not drive traffic to Reddit, as far as he knows, highlighting a separate concern for publishers and websites that depend on search referrals.

Schindler made the comment during Alphabet’s third-quarter earnings call, responding to a question about why search queries were growing at their fastest pace in five years while search revenue growth had slowed. He said exchange rates were the largest factor in the slowdown compared with the previous quarter. He also cited changes in spending by some Asia-Pacific retailers and normalized media spending after the football World Cup, before noting that fast growth in AI Mode queries had an impact because of their lower monetization.

Alphabet did not give a dollar estimate for that impact. Nor did Schindler say that AI Mode had caused Search revenue to fall. The company’s reported Search & other revenue rose 12% to $63.35 billion in the quarter. The statement describes a drag on monetization or growth, not a decline in the segment’s total revenue.

Huffman, speaking about the traffic effect on Reddit, said: “The reality is, the AI mode does not drive traffic, not for us and not to anybody, as far as I know.” That is his assessment, not a published measurement covering all sites. The source account also reports that Alphabet shares fell 12.6% on October 29, their steepest one-day decline since 2004. The fall followed results and investor concerns that included cash flow and spending, so it cannot be attributed to AI Mode alone.

Fewer Clicks Challenge Web Publishers

The tension is between answers that satisfy users directly and the websites that supply information or sell products. If people get what they need on a search page, they may have less reason to visit the original source. That can reduce opportunities for publishers to earn advertising revenue, for forums to attract new members, and for businesses to convert searchers into customers.

Some evidence points to a change in referral patterns, though it does not establish that AI Mode caused every decline. The source account cites Chartbeat data showing Google Search’s share of pageviews across its publisher network falling from about 9% in July 2024 to about 5% in July 2026. It also cites a Pew study in which users clicked a result in 8% of visits when an AI summary appeared, compared with 15% when one did not. Those figures describe different measures and should not be treated as a direct estimate of AI Mode’s effect.

For Google, lower monetization per AI query presents a business challenge as it expands a more conversational search experience. Schindler said the company sees an opportunity to show more ads within AI answers. For websites, the concern extends beyond a reduction in clicks: shopping tools that let users complete purchases without leaving search could separate a sale from a visit to the retailer’s site.

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Search Revenue and Referral Evidence

Google’s earnings-call remark came amid broader growth in search use. The company said query growth was at its highest pace in five years and that AI Mode queries were three times longer than traditional searches. Longer queries may reflect more detailed requests, but Alphabet did not disclose how many AI Mode queries it handled, how much advertising revenue each generated, or how the figures compare with conventional searches.

Google has previously said its AI features send “billions of clicks to websites every week.” The source account says the company did not provide a comparable referral figure on the October earnings call. Alphabet’s quarterly filing attributed search growth to increased queries, advertiser spending and improvements to advertising formats and delivery; it did not discuss AI Mode. That leaves a gap between Google’s broad statements about referrals and the specific traffic effects of its newer search experience.

The company is also developing commerce features. According to the source account, Google’s checkout standard covers hundreds of thousands of brands, potentially allowing some purchases to happen without a visit to a merchant’s website. Separately, Google pays more than 400 publications through a licensing pilot. These developments show that the impact differs by business: referral traffic is central for some publishers and forums, while product discovery and checkout are key concerns for retailers.

“It’s worth noting that the strong growth in AI Mode queries had an impact because of the lower monetization we were seeing in AI Mode. To be clear, we feel very good about our trajectory here.”

— Philipp Schindler, Google’s business chief, on Alphabet’s October 28 earnings call

The Missing Click and Revenue Figures

Alphabet has not disclosed the revenue impact attributable to AI Mode, the monetization gap per query, or the number of clicks AI Mode sends to outside websites. It is also unclear how much of the reported change in publisher referrals is linked specifically to AI-generated answers rather than other changes in search behavior, site audiences or Google’s product design.

Huffman’s statement reflects Reddit’s reported experience and his own knowledge; it does not prove that no website receives traffic from AI Mode. The source account also notes regulatory and industry developments, including a UK requirement for an AI opt-out, an EU investigation and a complaint filed by five French publisher groups on October 29. The details and outcomes of those processes remain developing.

Alphabet shares’ one-day drop is confirmed in the cited reporting, but estimates of lost market value differ, and the decline had multiple reported causes. The available information does not isolate how much investors’ reaction was tied to AI Mode’s monetization.

Google’s Next Monetization Measures

Google’s stated approach is to place more ads within AI answers as usage grows. Investors and publishers will be looking for later disclosures on AI Mode advertising, revenue and outbound clicks to judge whether the format can support Google’s business while continuing to send useful traffic to external sites. The company has not provided a date for such a breakdown.

Regulatory scrutiny and publisher negotiations may also shape how AI search develops. The source account identifies UK, EU and French developments, but their practical effects are not yet settled. Alphabet’s future earnings reports may provide further information on search monetization and capital spending; until then, the size of AI Mode’s effect on both Google and websites remains unquantified.

Key Questions

Did Google say AI Mode is reducing Search revenue?

No. Philipp Schindler said fast growth in AI Mode queries affected monetization because those queries were earning less. Alphabet still reported 12% growth in Search & other revenue for the quarter and did not quantify AI Mode’s effect.

Why did Alphabet shares fall on October 29?

The source account reports a 12.6% one-day decline, the steepest since 2004. Reports cited investor concerns including weaker-than-expected free cash flow and heavy spending, alongside questions about search growth and monetization. The available information does not assign the decline to one cause.

Does AI Mode send traffic to websites?

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said it does not send traffic to Reddit and, as far as he knows, to others. Google has separately said its AI features send billions of clicks to websites weekly, but did not provide an AI Mode-specific click count in the earnings-call information cited here.

What evidence suggests AI answers may reduce clicks?

The source account cites Pew research finding that users clicked a search result in 8% of visits when an AI summary appeared, versus 15% without one. It also cites a decline in Google’s share of pageviews across Chartbeat’s publisher network. These data do not by themselves establish that AI Mode caused the changes.

Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com