Technologies

Why Wikipedia Is Losing Traffic to AI Overviews on Google

The beloved online encyclopedia has been dropping in pageviews over the last few months.

Wikipedia has seen a decline in users this year due to artificial intelligence summaries in search engine results. The growing popularity of social media also contributes to the traffic decline, according to a blog post from Marshall Miller of the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization that oversees the free online encyclopedia.

In the post, Miller describes an 8% drop in human pageviews over the last few months compared with the numbers Wikipedia saw in the same months in 2024.

«We believe that these declines reflect the impact of generative AI and social media on how people seek information, especially with search engines providing answers directly to searchers, often based on Wikipedia content,» Miller wrote.

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Blame the bots

AI-generated summaries that pop up on search engines like Bing and Google often use bots called web crawlers to gather much of the information that users read at the top of the search results.

Websites do their best to restrict how these bots handle their data, but web crawlers have become skilled at going undetected.

«Many bots that scrape websites like ours are continually getting more sophisticated and trying to appear human,» Miller wrote.

After reclassifying Wikipedia traffic data from earlier this year, Miller says the site «found that much of the unusually high traffic for the period of May and June was coming from bots built to evade detection.»

The Wikipedia blog post also noted that younger generations are turning to social-video platforms for information rather than the open web and sites such as Wikipedia.

Gerry Murray, a research director at IDC, a market data provider, says brands, publishers, and creators should be willing to rethink their approach to adapt to AI.

«The new reality is that conversational AI does not refer users to websites,» Murray said. «It’s up to the publishing industry to find new ways to protect and monetize their content.»

When people search with AI, they’re less likely to click through

There is now promising research on the impact of generative AI on the internet, especially concerning online publishers with business models that rely on users visiting their webpages.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

In July, Pew Research examined browsing data from 900 US adults and found that the AI-generated summaries at the top of Google’s search results affected web traffic. When the summary appeared in a search, users were less likely to click on links compared to when the search results didn’t include the summaries.

Google search is especially important, because Google.com is the world’s most visited website — it’s how most of us find what we’re looking for on the internet.

«LLMs, AI chatbots, search engines and social platforms that use Wikipedia content must encourage more visitors to Wikipedia, so that the free knowledge that so many people and platforms depend on can continue to flow sustainably,» Miller wrote. «With fewer visits to Wikipedia, fewer volunteers may grow and enrich the content, and fewer individual donors may support this work.»

Last year, CNET published an extensive report on how changes in Google’s search algorithm decimated web traffic for online publishers.

Technologies

Nvidia GTC: All the AI and Robotics News We Expect to Hear at Today’s Keynote

Technologies

Apple AirPods Max 2 Headphones Are Here, Powered by the New H2 Chip

Apple’s premium over-ear headphones get their first update since 2020. Available for preorder on March 25, they ship in early April for $549.

The long wait is over for Apple’s next-generation AirPods Max headphones, which were first released in 2020. Apple announced today that the AirPods Max 2 will be powered by the H2 chip found in the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4. They offer 1.5x more effective noise canceling and «a new high-dynamic range amplifier for even cleaner audio.» The new AirPods Max will cost $549, the same as the original model.

Read more: Best Headphones of 2026

While the design of the headphones doesn’t appear to have changed, this new version brings the Max up to date with other AirPods models in the line. It’ll offer features supported by the H2 chip, including Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, Voice Isolation, Live Translation and Siri Interactions. They also support studio-quality audio recording and camera remote.

The more powerful chip (the original AirPods Max were powered by the H1 chip) should also help in improved voice-calling performance as it allows for more advanced AI filtering of background noise while isolating your voice. Apple also say the transparency mode sounds even more natural.

It was hard to call Apple’s updated USB-C version of the original AirPods Max a true 2.0 product, but it did have some small updates along with additional color options. The AirPods Max 2 has some things in common with it: It also supports 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio when connected with the included USB-C cable. And playing iOS, MacOS and iPadOS games in Game Mode reduces audio latency when using the AirPods Max 2.

There was no mention about Apple changing the protective carrying case for the AirPods Max 2. Until I hear otherwise, I’ll assume they come with the same case, which is more minimalist in style. Not everybody loves it, though, due to its purse-like aesthetic.

The AirPods Max 2 will be available to order starting March 25 in midnight, starlight, orange, purple and blue, with availability beginning in early April.

I’ll have a full review once I get my hands on a pair.

Technologies

The Galaxy Watch Ultra Is Due for an Update. Here’s When It Could Arrive

Rumors point to new Galaxy Watches on the way, but the rugged Ultra may steal the spotlight this year.

We’re only two months into the year, and Samsung has already dropped two major debuts, including a surprise trifold reveal and a new lineup of flagship Galaxy phones. Now, a fresh wave of Galaxy Watch rumors is starting to take shape.

Last year, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 8 debuted a slightly controversial redesign, making the return of the Galaxy Watch Classic and its physical rotating bezel all the more satisfying. This year, a new Classic model doesn’t seem likely (though another redesign isn’t completely off the table). But there may be another headliner ready to steal attention from the flagship once again.

A report from GalaxyClub cited by Android Authority suggests Samsung may launch a new Galaxy Watch Ultra alongside the Galaxy Watch 9, likely in the summer of 2026.

The rugged smartwatch, which debuted in summer 2024, received a few updates in the last cycle, such as larger storage (up to 64GB) and a new color, but otherwise remained the same.

This year’s version, likely to be called the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, may keep a similar design. At 47mm, the Ultra is already pushing the limits of wrist real estate. While a rotating bezel borrowed from the Classic line would be interesting, it feels like a tough sell for a rugged, adventure-focused watch.

Unlocking new health metrics

More realistically, the Ultra 2 could bring a new processor and upgraded sensors focused on deeper health tracking. Last year’s most notable addition was Samsung’s antioxidant index, which can detect nutrition-related signals through the skin’s surface. This year, Samsung could go deeper into skin-based detection, with broader nutrition insights and potentially even noninvasive glucose monitoring — one of the long-standing «holy grails» of wearable health tech that may finally be showing progress.

Battery and processor

One of the original Ultra’s biggest advantages was battery life, which lasted roughly 2.5 days on a charge, compared to the 30 to 40 hours of the flagship Galaxy Watch 8. Both the Watch 9 and Ultra 2 are expected to get a brand-new processor, which could mean better efficiency, longer battery life, or possibly a dual-chip architecture that separates high-performance tasks from low-power background processes, similar to what we’ve seen on the OnePlus Watch 3. If Samsung pulls that off, it could bring its lineup closer to the multiday endurance of competitors like the Huawei Watch 5 and OnePlus Watch 3.

More AI and less reliance on the phone

Improved processing power could also unlock more on-device AI features, especially as health coaching and AI-powered insights continue to evolve in wearables. Satellite connectivity is another possibility, following similar additions on the Apple Watch Ultra and Pixel Watch.

All of this is speculation for now, but it’s exciting to see the next Galaxy Watch lineup start to take shape based on early industry signals.