The short version

Ari Paparo predicted on February 2, 2026: ““AI search and summaries dramatically reduce traffic to the open web.” "AI is radically changing the way consumers surf the web, find information… the open web is getting destroyed right now.”” Verdict: Called it. Publishers and analytics providers reported noticeable declines in click-through rates from search to open-web pages in 2026 due to…

Prediction by

Ari Paparo

On February 2, 2026

““AI search and summaries dramatically reduce traffic to the open web.” "AI is radically changing the way consumers surf the web, find information… the open web is getting destroyed right now.””

Follow-up

Publishers and analytics providers reported noticeable declines in click-through rates from search to open-web pages in 2026 due to expanded AI summary features, supporting Paparo's prediction of reduced traffic.

From the High Caliber AI network — see the AI for PR module in the course.