Wikimedia: AI Bots and Summaries Reduce Wikipedia Traffic

Wikimedia Says AI Bots and Summaries Are Hurting Wikipedia’s Traffic

Wikimedia is raising concerns about the detrimental effect of artificial intelligence (AI) on the reliability of information available online. In a recent blog post, senior director of product, Marshall Miller, outlined how the rise of AI-generated summaries and chatbot responses is impacting Wikipedia’s page views. “We believe that these declines reflect the impact of generative AI and social media on how people seek information, especially with search engines providing answers directly to searchers, often based on Wikipedia content,” Miller stated.

The organization has encountered sophisticated AI bot crawlers that complicate the tracking of human traffic versus automated visits. Following enhanced bot detection efforts, data revealed an 8 percent drop in Wikipedia’s page views from the previous year. Miller warns of a potential existential risk; continued declines in traffic could threaten Wikipedia’s status as “the only site of its scale with standards of verifiability, neutrality, and transparency.” This could result in fewer volunteers, decreased funding, and, ultimately, less reliable content.

Miller suggests that AI and search engines should prioritize enabling user interaction with original content sources to foster trust in shared information. “For people to trust information shared on the internet, platforms should make it clear where the information is sourced from and elevate opportunities to visit and participate in those sources,” he writes.

Earlier this summer, Wikipedia proposed AI-generated summaries at the top of articles but ultimately dropped the idea amid significant backlash from volunteer editors. As the dialogue around AI’s role in information dissemination continues, it remains critical for platforms like Wikipedia to adapt while preserving the integrity of their content.

What do you think about the impact of AI on Wikipedia? Share your thoughts in the comments below!