Wikipedia has recorded an 8% year-over-year decline in human pageviews, signalling a shift in how people search for and consume information online. According to Marshall Miller of the Wikimedia Foundation, the trend became clear after an updated bot-detection system revealed that unusually high traffic in May and June had come from bots built to avoid detection, masking the real drop in human readership.
Miller attributed the decline to the growing influence of generative AI and social media, noting that search engines are increasingly providing direct AI-generated answers instead of directing users to source websites. At the same time, younger audiences are turning to short-form video and social platforms for knowledge, bypassing traditional web-based resources. Google, however, has disputed claims that its AI summaries reduce traffic to sites like Wikipedia.
Although Wikipedia content continues to power many AI tools and search responses, the foundation warned that fewer visits could lead to long-term risks. Reduced traffic may shrink the pool of volunteer editors who create and verify content, and could also affect donations that sustain Wikipedia’s operations. The foundation has already paused its own AI summary experiment after concerns from the editing community.
Miller said Wikipedia is developing new content-attribution frameworks and strategies to bring readers back to the platform. He urged tech companies that rely on Wikipedia’s content to link back to the site and encouraged the public to value citations and original sources, stressing that the knowledge behind AI systems is produced by real people who deserve recognition and support