Online publishers have an AI problem. Everyone from the New York Times to your favorite mommy blog is losing traffic as AI engines’ conversational answers intercept their clicks. It’s zero-click search on steroids, and it’s the latest gripe across the interweb. But a solution is starting to emerge: video.
Before getting into that solution, let’s quantify the problem. Zero-click search on Google alone has grown from 60 percent to 68 percent since 2024 says Rand Fishkin. The growth of AI Overviews, AI Mode, and Chat GPT search has meaningfully put a dent in website traffic by preventing the need to click through.
What’s the actual damage beyond vanity metrics? Publishers in the aggregate are estimated to lose about $2 billion in annual ad revenue alone this year. Beyond ad revenue, there are calls to action and business that’s generated on websites – including SMBs – from eCommerce to service appointments.
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Apples to Oranges
So why is video the solution? There are a few levels, but one advantage is that its departure from text makes it unique enough not to be intercepted by a text-based answer. Yes, AI engines can index video transcripts to answer questions. But the video itself – hence the need to click – is still differentiated.
Put a different way, text can’t win the fight against AI answers. The latter is a better mousetrap on an apples-to-apples level. Users can get answers immediately rather than having to click into a website then hunt around. That answer is sometimes wrong, but users will often choose speed over accuracy.
But for video, AI search offers an apples-to-oranges comparison, so it’s not as easily disrupted. Clicking to see a video will win in many situations, such as the need to have something explained with visuals. There’s also trust inherent in seeing a real person explain something. AI meanwhile still has trust issues.
Sticking with that same trust point, the era of AI search will continue flood the web with slop, which could elevate the value of premium content that’s deemed authentic. And while AI slop is invading video channels too, authentic and human-created video content could gain immense value by contrast.
Solve a Different Problem
Though all the above presents one answer to a problem, no one claimed it was an easy answer. Tech-challenged and time-starved SMB proprietors find it hard enough to engage in simple content marketing like email newsletters. Getting out the camera and firing up Final Cut Pro is a non-starter for many.
But for those who can pull it off, this is a moment of disruption that offers an opportunity to differentiate. That goes for SMBs that need to evolve their methods to stay relevant and visible. And it goes for the larger publishers who need to feed the beast in terms of monetizable traffic for core ad revenue streams.
Sticking with that last cohort of ad-supported publishers, this is where video’s elevated value could save them. If video does indeed gain premium status for the reasons noted above – rising above all the AI slop – all this shifting ground could end up helping publishers solve a different problem: commoditization.
The internet age made content creation abundant and thus hyper-competitive for audience attention. Publishers have spent years evolving their strategies in response. Now, with all the above, human-created video could be one antidote for commoditization, and a path back to scarce and premium value.
Header image credit: Szabo Viktor on Unsplash
