Wikipedia Says Traffic Is Falling Due To AI Search Summaries And Social Video
Wikipedia — often called the last “good” corner of the internet — is feeling the pressure of the AI era. According to a new report, Wikipedia says traffic is falling due to AI search summaries and social video, revealing an 8% year-over-year drop in human pageviews.
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The data comes from Marshall Miller of the Wikimedia Foundation, who explained that an update to Wikipedia’s bot detection system revealed inflated traffic numbers earlier this year. Once bots were filtered out, the true scope of the decline became clear — and it’s tied to deeper shifts in how people find information online.
AI Search Summaries Are Changing How We Search
Generative AI tools built into search engines like Google are now answering questions directly in search results. Instead of clicking through to websites like Wikipedia, users are increasingly satisfied with quick AI-generated summaries.
Miller points to this trend as a major reason behind the drop, saying that AI search summaries are reducing the need for users to visit the original source. Google has disputed this claim, but the pattern appears consistent with changes across the web — people are consuming more information without ever leaving the search page.
Social Video Platforms Are Taking Over Information Discovery
The second big shift is happening on platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels. Wikipedia says traffic is falling due to AI search summaries and social video, but it’s the social video part that highlights how younger audiences prefer short, visual content over text-heavy web pages.
As a result, knowledge-seeking behavior has moved away from traditional websites. Users now turn to creators and influencers who condense complex topics into bite-sized videos — a trend that favors engagement over depth.
Wikipedia’s Role In The AI Era
Despite fewer direct visits, Miller argues that Wikipedia remains crucial. Its open, volunteer-driven content still powers the very AI models and search summaries drawing users away. In other words, the knowledge is still reaching people — just through new intermediaries.
Wikipedia even tested its own AI summaries, but the initiative was paused after editors raised concerns about accuracy and oversight. The experiment underscores the challenge of balancing innovation with trust.
The Risk Of Invisible Knowledge
The decline in traffic has ripple effects beyond analytics. Fewer visits could mean fewer volunteers contributing and fewer donors supporting the platform’s mission. Miller warns that if users don’t realize their information originates from Wikipedia, they might undervalue the work that sustains it.
This raises a bigger question: in a world dominated by AI and short videos, will the web’s most trusted knowledge sources survive if they become invisible?
Wikipedia says traffic is falling due to AI search summaries and social video, a trend that highlights the internet’s evolving relationship with knowledge. As AI-generated answers and short-form videos redefine how people learn, platforms built on transparency and collaboration must adapt — or risk fading into the background of the very systems they helped create.
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