I recently wrote about the coalition of UK publishers who filed a complaint to the EU Commission about AI Overviews and what it’s calling Google’s abuse of its online-search market power.
The problem with AI Overviews and the zero-click nature it’s fostering is in no way limited to the UK — as so many frustrated U.S. publishers and marketers would tell you between screams from pulling out chunks of their own hair — but another study from that side of the pond is helping to highlight why the problem is so existential.
Portland, a communications agency, looked at ChatGPT and Google Gemini use regarding news and current events, and found that not only are nearly half (47%) of the UK adults using those tools for that purpose, but that percentage rises to 81% of “decision makers” who are in senior leadership positions.
“Decision makers skew two-thirds male and are estimated by Portland to make up 10% of the UK population,” writes Press Gazette’s Dominic Ponsford. “They include: senior management in public and private sectors, private sector workers earning more than [$100,000] who also meet other criteria, journalists, academics and those involved in the formulation of public policy.”
Their influence, it goes without saying, is quite meaningful regardless of geography, with 88% of decision-makers saying that keeping up with the news is a help to their work (compared to 66% of the general public). Overall, saving time was the most popular reason for using AI to access news (19%), followed by curiosity (15%), better understanding (14%), and fact-checking (14%).
(Source: Portland Communications, via Press Gazette)
“Our research shows that if you want to reach those who shape Britain’s future, you need to understand how their news habits are changing,” says Portland CEO Simon Whitehead. “AI is now a core part of the news ecosystem for decision makers, and trusted brands like The Guardian and BBC still matter. To reach them, communications professionals need to consider two audiences: people and algorithms.”
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