Wikipedia Reports 8% Drop in Human Pageviews Amid AI Search Growth

Wikipedia’s human pageviews have declined by about 8% compared to last year, according to a post on the Wikimedia Foundation’s Diff blog. The organization attributes the drop to changes in how people seek information, including the rise of AI-generated search summaries and the popularity of social video platforms.

The foundation recently updated its bot detection systems after discovering unusually high traffic in May and June 2025 that was actually coming from bots disguised as human users. After reclassifying the data, the analysis showed a clear decrease in genuine human visits across all language versions of Wikipedia.

Marshall Miller of the Wikimedia Foundation noted that search engines increasingly provide direct answers using Wikipedia-sourced information rather than linking to the site itself. He added that younger audiences are turning to platforms like TikTok and YouTube for information instead of visiting traditional websites.

In response, the foundation is developing a framework for proper attribution of its content and encouraging AI and search companies to direct more visitors to Wikipedia. It has also formed two new teams focused on reader growth and experience, and is experimenting with ways to reach younger users through videos, games, and chatbots.