AI Search Tools and Chatbots Reportedly Diminishing Wikipedia Traffic and Threatening Knowledge Ecosystem
Wikipedia is experiencing significant traffic declines that sources attribute to the rise of AI-powered search results and chatbots. The Wikimedia Foundation warns this trend could threaten the platform’s volunteer-driven knowledge ecosystem and internet-wide information reliability.
AI Disruption to Information Ecosystems
Wikipedia’s traffic has declined significantly as generative artificial intelligence tools and chatbots transform how people access information online, according to reports from the Wikimedia Foundation. The organization’s senior product director Marshall Miller stated that improved bot detection methods have revealed an 8 percent year-over-year decrease in page views, which analysts suggest reflects broader shifts in information consumption patterns.
