Smaller web publishers, with 1,000-10,000 daily page views, are experiencing the most significant traffic declines in the AI era, according to Chartbeat data. Over the past two years, referral traffic from traditional search engines has dropped by 60% for small publishers, compared to 47% for medium-sized publishers and 22% for large publishers. The data suggests larger publishers with better brand recognition and more direct-to-consumer products are more insulated from declines in traditional search traffic. However, the decline in search traffic is not close to offsetting declines from AI-driven search experiences and chatbots. The average number of weekly page views across all global publishers measured by Chartbeat dropped 6% between 2024 and 2025, which can be attributed to factors outside of shifting search trends.