Referral traffic from AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity is on the rise, despite some publishers' efforts to block these platforms' crawlers. This trend is evident in data from multiple sources, including Similarweb and Chartbeat.
Several major publishers, including The Atlantic, have seen significant increases in referral traffic from ChatGPT. The Atlantic's referrals from ChatGPT rose by more than 80% from December to January, according to a spokesperson. Other publishers, such as BDG, have also reported increases in referral traffic from AI platforms.
Interestingly, some publishers that have blocked AI crawlers are still seeing referral traffic from these platforms. For example, The New York Times has blocked OpenAI's crawlers, but still received over 240,000 visits from ChatGPT in January.
These findings suggest that AI platforms are finding ways to circumvent publishers' attempts to block their crawlers. This raises questions about the relationship between publishers and AI companies, and the potential implications for the future of online content.
It's worth noting that not all publishers are blocking AI crawlers. Some, like Blavity, have signed deals with AI companies to receive attribution and revenue for their content. As the use of AI in online content continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how publishers and AI companies navigate these issues.
