Is Google’s AI Search Harming Small Website Owners?

Not long ago, using Google search felt simple. You typed in a question, and a list of websites appeared. Whether the answers were right or wrong, those websites got a chance to be seen — and for many small creators and businesses, that visibility mattered.

But something has changed.

With the rollout of Google’s AI-generated search summaries, we are now given neat little “answers” at the top of the page. These AI summaries are often pulled — word for word — from the same websites that used to appear in search results. But here is the problem: people no longer click through to the actual sites.

Why would they? The AI has already given them what they think they need.

And that is the issue. These summaries are built on the hard work of real people — bloggers, educators, researchers, and small businesses — yet those same people no longer get the traffic, the visibility, or the credit. It is like quoting someone in a report and never mentioning their name. For creators who rely on page views to generate income or build an audience, it feels like an invisible tax on effort.

This is especially painful for newer or smaller websites. If you are not already a major publisher, you are now competing with an AI-generated summary that may have borrowed your words. Your site might contain original, well-researched information, but unless someone scrolls down and clicks on your link, your work may remain unseen.

There is also a risk of misinformation. AI summaries can be wrong — or at least incomplete. Without visiting the full article, readers may miss important context, caveats, or insights that only a human writer can provide. A quick summary is not always a correct or responsible one.

At its core, search was meant to connect people with high-quality information — and support the sources behind that information. When search engines replace content instead of promoting it, the internet becomes less open and less fair.

If we want a healthy digital world where all voices matter, we need to question how AI is being used in search results — and ask whether it is time to protect and promote the very creators who make the web worth visiting.