Wikimedia warns AI-generated answers are hurting Wikipedia traffic
Wikimedia warns AI-generated answers are hurting Wikipedia traffic Wikimedia is raising concerns that the rise of large language models (LLMs), AI-generated summaries and chatbots is reducing direct visits to Wikipedia — a core source of verifiable online knowledge. In a recent blog post, Marshall Miller, Wikimedia's senior director of product, links an observed 8% year-over-year drop in page views to generative AI and changes in how search engines present answers. Wikimedia reports that improving bot detection changed its metrics and exposed a sharper decline in human page views. The foundation argues that when search engines and chatbots provide direct answers based on Wikipedia content, users may never visit the original articles — undermining volunteer engagement, funding and the site’s long-term reliability. Key points: Wikimedia recorded an 8% YoY drop in…
