Publishers spent $113M on paid search as AI erodes traffic
What this answers
- How much are publishers spending on paid search to buy back traffic?
- Top 100 Media publishers spent an estimated $113 million on paid search in July 2026, up 41% year over year and 274% over three years, per Similarweb data reported by Adweek.
- Which publisher spends the most on paid search?
- Forbes, at an estimated $72.2 million in July 2026 — about two-thirds of the top 100 publishers' combined spend — even as its organic traffic fell 26.7% year over year, per Similarweb data cited by Adweek.
Publishers in Similarweb’s Top 100 Media index spent an estimated $113 million on Google paid search in July 2026, up 41% year over year and 274% over three years, per Adweek. Forbes accounted for $72.2 million of that spend as its organic traffic fell 26.7% year over year; CNN and USA Today saw organic declines of 28.9% and 24.1% over the same period. Adweek notes the spending flows back to Google, whose AI-driven search products are shrinking the same publishers’ organic traffic for free.
Why it matters: Publishers are now paying Google for the clicks its own AI-driven search products are taking from them organically for free — a spend line that's compounding faster than the traffic it's meant to replace.
The record: GoogleSimilarweb
Via PPC Land ↗ · Adweek ↗
Posted to the wire September 10, 2026. Edited by Joe Balewski.