Wikipedia Witnesses Waning Views Amid AI and Video Surge
In an increasingly chaotic digital world, many still regard Wikipedia as “the last good website.” However, recent data suggest that even the popular online encyclopedia is not immune to the growing influence of AI search tools and social video platforms.
According to Marshall Miller, an executive at the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia’s human-based page views have declined by 8 percent over the past year, reports TechCrunch.
The foundation recently updated its bot-detection system and discovered that much of the unusually high traffic in May and June came from automated bots. As a result, the actual number of human visitors has been significantly lower than previously assumed.
Miller noted that generative AI-powered search engines now provide direct answers to users’ queries, reducing the need for people to visit sources like Wikipedia. Additionally, younger audiences increasingly prefer to seek information through social video platforms.
He added that while the emergence of new knowledge platforms is a positive development, it also poses risks — as users are becoming less aware of their sources, and the number of volunteers and donors could decline.
In response, Wikipedia is developing a new content attribution framework and has established two dedicated teams to attract new readers. Miller urged, “People should verify their sources when seeking information and support human-curated knowledge.”
