What news companies must do to quickly adapt to the changing realities of search and AI answer engines is the focus of the latest INMA strategic report.

As Search Ends for News, Here Is What’s Next dives into:

• The state of search today and where audiences currently get their news.
• Reinventing the search relationship.
• Thinking beyond Google.
• New discovery funnels.
• Shifting content strategies.

Click here to download the report 

Per the report, news publishers must act quickly to develop “zero-search” strategies for engagement as audiences are becoming accustomed to getting their news in fragments, summaries, and answers — without visiting publisher sites, subscribing, or even seeing a brand. 

Written by INMA Ideas Blog Editor Paula Felps, the report offers a look at the state of search today, the impact this is having on news traffic, and practical guidance on the future of search alternatives. Organic search traffic is expected to shrink to potentially near zero over the next two to three years. 

As users increasingly choose to consume information directly in AI-generated summaries and answer engines, Felps reveals, more than half of all searches on Google no longer end with a click. Further, according to INMA research included in the report, one-third of news publishers are at high risk of disruption due to weak subscription models and heavy reliance on search and advertising-driven traffic.

“As Search Ends for News, Here Is What’s Next” explores how this transformation is rapidly unfolding, what it means for newsrooms, and what publishers must do to adapt. Felps concludes that while search isn’t dead, it’s not what it was, and offers an urgent message to publishers: Shifts in behaviour and technology will alter every department of news media companies, and those changes are happening fast.

“As Search Ends for News, Here Is What’s Next” is available for free to INMA members and for purchase by non-members at INMA.org/reports.

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