Overview
- After a Brazil-centered surge that appeared human, Wikimedia updated bot detection and reclassified March–August data, exposing sophisticated crawlers and revealing an 8% year-over-year drop in genuine visits.
- The foundation attributes the decline to generative AI in search and to younger audiences turning to social video, warning that fewer visits could mean fewer volunteer edits and reduced individual donations.
- Wikimedia is enforcing reuse policies, developing an attribution framework and technical controls, and expanding teams and projects to reach younger audiences on YouTube, TikTok, Roblox, and Instagram.
- Researchers and publishers report reduced click-through when AI summaries appear, with Pew-cited analyses showing lower click rates and media groups including DMG, Penske, and FIEG filing complaints or lawsuits.
- Google disputes broad traffic-harm claims, and separate analyses show Wikipedia remains a major source for AI systems, including heavy citation in ChatGPT outputs and frequent presence in AI Overviews.