As generative AI continues to become a bigger factor in content discovery, there are various questions about how this will impact SEO, as well as publisher revenue, given how fewer people will be tapping through on search results, with AI tools summarizing the information for them instead.

Bing! Goes the Register

Are you looking for the answer? Well, so are we. The fact of the matter is – no one really knows just how deep the full ramifications go, but Microsoft, which is seeing a big demand for its new Bingchat experience, is working on a few options, which could at least give publishers some hope that their web traffic won’t be dunked on as a result.

Today, Microsoft has outlined two new projects, tied to its Bing chat process, which will help ensure that publishers still get exposure in generative results, along with potential revenue share plans for partners. To start, Microsoft’s developing a new UI for Bing chat results, which would display more links from a publisher when a user hovers over a highlighted link.

Basically, the idea here is that this will maintain exposure for the publisher, while also helping to drive more traffic to publisher websites by showcasing related content. Oh, and Microsoft also seems to be working on a new revenue share program, which would filter revenue through to websites that contribute to the Bing chat response.

“For our Microsoft Start partners, placing a rich caption of Microsoft Start licensed content beside the chat answer helping to drive more user engagement with the content on Microsoft Start where we share the ad revenue with the partner. We’re also exploring placing ads in the chat experience to share the ad revenue with partners whose content contributed to the chat response.”

None of these are likely to be directly beneficial to publishers as the current systems. However, they are a start, which also shows that the platforms themselves are considering these questions, and how they can build more equitable processes, along with new chat experiences.

The Wrap

This, at least in part, is why Google wanted to delay the rollout of its own AI tools, till it could work out the full implications of such a process. However, the popularity of Microsoft’s AI experiences forces its hand – which could actually end up a net negative for the web ecosystem over time. Regardless, this is the level we’re all at right now, and the need to establish the best way forward – which also relates to AI content regulations as well, another point of contention among experts. These new experiments show that platforms themselves are developing processes to maintain their existing web monetization structures.

Sources

http://bit.ly/430uruy