Wikipedia, long viewed as a reliable source amid a cluttered web, is seeing a notable drop in human visits. The Wikimedia Foundation reports an 8% year-on-year decline in genuine page views, reflecting changing ways people seek information.
Marshall Miller from the Foundation attributes this to generative AI and social video platforms altering user habits. He says, “Search engines are increasingly using generative AI to provide answers directly to searchers rather than linking to sites like ours.” Additionally, younger audiences favour social video sites over the traditional web.
Recent improvements in bot detection revealed that much of the unusually high traffic in May and June was from bots designed to avoid detection, inflating earlier numbers. Wikipedia’s AI-generated summary trials were paused after editors raised concerns, showing the need for human oversight.
The decline in visits risks fewer volunteers contributing and reduced funding. Volunteers recently showed exceptional commitment, reportedly disarming a gunman at a Wikipedia editors’ conference. To combat these trends, Wikipedia is rolling out a new attribution framework and establishing teams to attract readers, calling for more volunteer support.
Google disputes that AI summaries lower site traffic, arguing AI can increase engagement. Yet, experts warn that direct AI answers may reduce awareness of original sources, weakening support for content creators.
“When you search for information online, look for citations and click through to the original source material,” Miller said, urging careful information use.
He then called for recognising the human effort behind generative AI content and supporting trusted knowledge.