AI search engines increasingly rely on earned media and independent journalism as their most trusted training and citation source. Yet the same AI summaries that depend on journalism are stripping away the traffic and revenue that fund it.

Publishers have already lost huge volumes of referral traffic. Newsrooms are shrinking. Search traffic is declining. And AI is accelerating that shift.

This talk explores the paradox at the centre of modern search: AI systems depend on journalism to function, but the economics of search are undermining journalism itself.

If the ecosystem changes, so must the way brands earn attention.

The session will explore:
- What the collapse of “search traffic journalism” means for SEO and PR
- Why publishers are shifting towards exclusives, video and original reporting
- Why visibility now matters beyond traditional press links
- How brands must adapt their PR strategies to support the new media economy