Overview
- An update to bot detection reclassified March–August traffic after a spike that appeared human, revealing evasive bots and an 8% year-over-year decline in real visits.
- The foundation attributes the drop to generative AI in search and shifting habits toward social video, which reduce referrals to wikipedia.org.
- Independent research cited in coverage found clicks fall from 15% to 8% when Google’s AI Overviews appear, while Google says overall site traffic remains relatively stable.
- Wikipedia remains a major source for AI systems, with research showing it among ChatGPT’s most-cited sources, even as Wikimedia reports rising scraping and bandwidth use by bots.
- Wikimedia is enforcing new policies, building an attribution framework, and launching Reader Growth, Reader Experience and Future Audiences efforts to protect referrals and sustain volunteers and donations.