AI搜索降低出版商流量，反而损害用户体验。
AI in Search Reduces Publisher Referrals Without Improving User Experience: Experimental Evidence
- 在谷歌搜索中测试AI摘要和AI模式对用户行为的影响。
- 关闭AI摘要可提升15%点击率，纯AI模式则使点击率下降且信任度降低。
- 适合关注搜索引擎经济影响与内容生态的读者。
将生成式AI融入网络搜索，为用户提供合成答案，改变了人们获取信息的方式，也引发了对内容提供方（即出版商）下游影响的担忧。我们在全球主流搜索平台谷歌搜索上开展一项预注册的实地实验（N=1,100），评估AI摘要和AI模式对用户行为、感知及出版商流量的因果影响。结果显示，移除AI摘要和AI模式可显著提高用户点击出版商链接的转化率；而仅使用AI模式则导致点击率下降，同时削弱用户对谷歌信息的信任感与整体体验。研究揭示：生成式AI融入搜索正在重塑在线注意力分配，对依赖内容生态的出版商造成显著经济后果。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
The integration of generative AI into web search delivers synthesized answers to user queries, changing how people navigate and assess information, while raising concerns about the downstream impacts on publishers who supply the underlying content. We conduct a preregistered field experiment (N=1,100) on Google Search, the dominant online search platform, to estimate the causal effects of AI Overviews and AI Mode on user behavior, perceptions, and publisher traffic. We show that removing AI Overviews and AI Mode increases click-through rates to publishers, while an AI Mode-only experience reduces click-through rates and erodes user experience and trust in information found on Google. These findings show that integrating generative AI into web search reshapes online attention, with economic consequences for the online publishers that sustain both search platforms and the overall information ecosystem.
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