Some news this week answer part of the original question “is anyone else seeing it”.
Reddit reported on Wednesday that Google search referrals fell by more than a million a week in October. They expect the trend to continue more progressively and project 10%+ decrease in Q4. (Yes, the stock lost massively - about 30% as a result)
Huffman on the call: “The reality is, the AI mode does not drive traffic, not for us and not to anybody, as far as I know.” And on crawling: “Google is crawling us as hard as ever.”
Their answer is to move Reddit to a primarily logged-in experience, with search landings still open.
Some of my numbers to contribute to @HAWK’s point about the snake eating itself: in the last month AI retrieval bots fetched about 4.9 million of our pages and AI assistants sent back only 581 visitors . At that ratio I understand why people block.
It’s unsustainable.
Has anyone here tried the new Search Console “Search generative AI” opt-out (the one Google added after the UK CMA order) and measured what it did to clicks? That seems like the one lever that touches AI Overviews without leaving Google, and I have not seen a single published result.
The comparison you shared really resonated with me: traffic doesn’t seem too bad, but actual engagement is declining. This aligns with what I typically observe—many people still come to look up information or browse old threads, but they no longer leave comments or bring new questions to the forum.
I agree with the point above about fewer “simple questions.” If newcomers only see already-resolved old threads when they arrive for the first time, it can be hard for them to find a suitable entry point. Personally, I pay more attention to two types of content: first, details that can only be explained through firsthand experience, such as pitfalls encountered and workarounds found; second, topics that even long-time members feel compelled to discuss, rather than just simple Q&A.
I’d like to ask the original poster a question: Have you tried analyzing traffic and engagement separately? For instance, among returning users, how many are just browsing versus how many actually post or like? If readers are still coming, the issue might not be about traffic, but rather about what motivates people to speak up.
. At that ratio I understand why people block.