Plus: The Home Depot finds itself in immigration spotlight; content creators draw millions of views during LA protests.
It may have tanked in the box office, but does anyone remember the movie “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” from all the way back in 2001? It had a sort of creepy, dystopian take on what the world would look like when AI robots were nearly indistinguishable from actual humans. Disturbing, right?
What it didn’t address was how AI would affect where and how we get our information.
In this case, more than two decades on, humanlike robots aren’t yet reality, but AI is real and it’s coming for Google search.
The Wall Street Journal reports that chatbots are replacing Google search across news outlets, driving traffic away from news sites faster than ever.
We’ve seen this affect large publishers from Business Insider to The Washington Post, prompting layoffs and the creation of AI-focused teams.
Organic search traffic to Business Insider’s websites declined by 55% between April 2022 and April 2025.
Nicholas Thompson, chief executive of the Atlantic told WSJ: “Google is shifting from being a search engine to an answer engine. We have to develop new strategies.”
The article also said: “At the New York Times, the share of traffic coming from organic search to the paper’s desktop and mobile websites slid to 36.5% in April 2025 from almost 44% three years earlier, according to Similarweb.
“The Wall Street Journal’s traffic from organic search was up in April compared with three years prior, Similarweb data show, though as a share of overall traffic it declined to 24% from 29%.”
Why it matters: Obviously this affects journalists and publishers, but PR pros need to pay attention too. Thompson is right. We need new strategies. PR pros need to think differently about how they can use AI to help their efforts, keep their brands visible and educate themselves about AI’s role in search. They need to closely examine how consumers are accessing information and what behaviors are changing.
It’s not all bad, though. Chatbots and other AI search functions, like AI overviews, still have to get their information from somewhere. But AI overviews appear above organic search results, reducing click rates to websites and can draw from older, yet relevant, information.
AI creates the need to diversify the medium. Brands should shift focus from keywords and SEO to how AI is generating information and how AI will interpret prompts. What other ways can you structure your message to align with AI? Does this include more social platforms or Substack newsletters? The key here is to learn the function of AI and how results are derived.
Editor’s Top Reads:
- Going to the theater to watch a new film almost feels nostalgic in today’s streaming-dominated world. I admit that while I enjoy the jumbo popcorn and boxed chocolate candy, if given a choice, I’m going for that Prime rental in my PJs every time. AMC understands this too. More people are opting out of seeing movies in theaters, which is affecting revenue. AMC must do something to remain financially viable. The company recently announced it would align itself with competitors Regal and Cinemark and add a few extra advertisements before your movie begins after five years of saying they wouldn’t. Viewers may find this annoying but it likely won’t deter attendance. The New York Times reports that AMC said: “For the past five years, AMC has sought out crucial revenue that is not reliant on the increase of base ticket prices…while AMC was initially reluctant to bring this to our theaters, our competitors have fully participated for more than five years without any direct impact to their attendance.” The company goes on to validate its move and suggests they’re prepared for some backlash. Just because the news is bleak doesn’t mean this is a bad brand move. AMC lays it out clearly. They’re transparent about the why. They offer some data about their competitors and revenues. They say upfront they’re doing this so ticket prices don’t have to increase. And they expect some backlash. Sometimes companies need to make difficult business decisions. In this case, they approached it with clarity and rationale, which may help soothe unhappy customers who would rather sit through a few more commercials than pay more for a ticket.
- The media landscape continues to diversify with self-made content creators gathering millions of views from their coverage of the recent protests in Los Angeles. Using mediums like X, YouTube and Twitch, the NYT reports that “As protests in Los Angeles against the Trump administration stretched into their fifth day on Tuesday, social media creators have at times outnumbered the traditional press corps at rallies and have played an outsize role in sharing media about what has happened on the ground.” Social channels are helping creators generate a following in droves. They’re getting the shares, impressions and clicks. No longer is traditional media the only stream for getting your message out. It’s clear that influencers hold sway and have a dedicated following. While this specific example may not be the right kind of collab for all brands, conservative media outlets have capitalized on these influencers’ following and brought them in as talking heads, helping to potentially boost their own viewership.
- Home Depot has unwittingly found itself at the center of the immigration controversy due to the presence of day laborers, some of whom are undocumented, at their stores. The WSJ reports that the hardware store’s parking lots have been a focal point of ICE raids as day laborers gather nearby and pick up supplies. From the article: “The company has been criticized by both pro- and anti-immigrant camps. Some groups have attacked Home Depot for acting as a facilitator for an undocumented workforce; other groups have pressed the company to do more to make these workers’ conditions better.’” Home Depot is laying low and making careful public statements merely clarifying policy. They’ve instructed store managers to not interact with federal agents and are offering paid leave to some employees. Essentially, they’re trying to not become even more of a story in the face of a really controversial issue and handle the issue internally to the best of their ability.
Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at courtneyb@ragan.com.
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