The Digiday Podcast How AI rewrites search for publishers
Sep 9, 2025
Jessica Davies and Sara Guaglione, both senior media experts at Digiday, dive into how AI is dramatically reshaping the search landscape for publishers. They discuss the rise of AI chatbots in online search and the implications for traffic and engagement metrics. The conversation touches on Google's legal challenges, Apple's push for its own AI search engine, and the call for regulatory action regarding new AI tools like Gemini. They explore how publishers can adapt to these rapid changes and the importance of maintaining quality in journalism.
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Weak Remedies Won't Break Search Power
- The court remedies for Google's search monopoly fell short of forcing major structural change.
- That limited remedy reduces expectations for tougher outcomes in other antitrust cases like ad tech.
Apple Eyes AI Search As Defensive Play
- Apple is reportedly building an AI-powered search engine which could compete with mid-tier AI search players.
- The move may be defensive to reduce Apple's payments to Google for default search status.
Publishers Want Gemini Included In Probe
- UK publishers want the CMA to include Google's Gemini in its search probe because AI assistants function like next-gen search.
- Including Gemini would strengthen publishers' leverage for compensation if AI replaces referral traffic.
