The New Year has kicked off with the release of research showing how significantly AI is disrupting the search traffic model on which Australia’s digital commerce is based.
Research from the Reuters Institute, released in January, shows Google organic search traffic to publishers declined 33% globally in 2025.
The Reuters Institute, based at Oxford University, has tracked digital journalism trends since 2012 and is widely regarded as the authoritative source on how platform changes affect content distribution.
The 280 media executives across 51 countries who responded to the survey said they expect search referrals to fall by another 43% over the next three years – that means traditional search traffic will have effectively halved in 48 months.
AI Discovery is affecting any organisation where search visibility drives revenue: professional services, retail, hospitality, education, healthcare, real estate and so on.
And disruption is likely to accelerate. In November, Google launched an AI-powered trip planner in the US that generates complete itineraries with accommodation, dining and activity recommendations, but it hasn’t been rolled out in Australia yet.
Australian organisations have a small window to respond to what’s coming.
Baseline testing across Google AI, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity showed the property appearing in 54% of relevant AI-generated recommendations.
Post-implementation, we’re tracking toward 72-75% visibility, with improvements appearing progressively over six to eight weeks.
Pictured: The InterContintental Sydney Hotel, Harbour Suite.