"The bots scrape the sites and answer search queries inside a box that users never leave. In rare, but positive, circumstances, the publishers might get paid for the initial scraping - and they might be given assurance that their content will be surfaced accurately, ethically, and with fair attribution. But the old model of the Internet, in which nodes like Google and Facebook send readers back to publishers and creators, doesn't exist yet in AI. Very few publishers are actually getting readers from AI search."
"External links from search boxes could become more prominent. The AI companies could discern user intent, or even particularly high-value queries, and guide certain users back to the sites that provided the initial information. A large company could adopt a model, like the one build by ProRata, where publishers are paid based on their contributions to answers to specific queries. Advertising inventory on the AI search sites could be offered based on the value of the information that's been scraped."
AI search is currently extractive: bots scrape publisher sites and answer queries inside a box that keeps users from visiting original sites. Publishers sometimes receive payment or assurances in rare cases, but most do not receive readers from AI search. Multiple solutions exist: make external links more prominent, have AI discern user intent and route users back to source sites, adopt contribution-based payment models like ProRata, and sell advertising inventory tied to the value of scraped information. Marketplace features should include stronger guardrails for attribution, factual accuracy, and journalism ethics. A healthy publishing industry yields better information for AI models. In 2026 one major AI company will implement a fair value exchange with publishers.
Read at Nieman Lab
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