Google search traffic was down globally by a third in the year to November, according to new Chartbeat data. In addition, referrals to more than 2,500 publisher websites from Google Discover, a feed served to users on Google’s native mobile apps and within its Android operating system, were down 21% year on year. Since May 2023, Google search referrals were down 21% globally, with Google Discover down 18% and all external referrals down 24%.
Source: Global publisher Google traffic dropped by a third in 2025
If trained professionals can’t reliably detect AI, everyday listeners won’t either. The behaviour is stable and repeatable. Millions search for and share AI covers and remixes daily. That consistency is the basis of every revenue line the industry has ever built. What’s missing is licensed infrastructure. The biggest short-term commercial opportunity is AI cover versions and remixes.
Back in November, Napster’s $3 billion funding apparently fell through, leaving the music streaming platform’s future uncertain. Now, the company has abruptly shuttered its music streaming capabilities—while users were actively using the service—in its broader pivot to AI assistants. The pivot into AI isn’t unexpected—the brand was purchased by AI company Infinite Reality last year—but for users of the music streaming service, to call it jarring is an understatement.
Facebook is testing a system that charges users for sharing web links, in a move that could prove to be a further blow to news outlets and other publishers. Meta, the social media platform’s owner, said it is carrying out a “limited test” in which those without a paid Meta Verified subscription, costing at least £9.99 a month, can only post two external links a month.
