I had a call this week with a long-standing publishing client. One of their sites — a project we’d invested heavily in — is now shifting commercial direction, prompting a review of the search strategy.
But the conversation quickly moved beyond domain strategy adn tagging and into something much deeper: an existential shift in content strategy driven by the rise of LLMs and the impending collapse in the revenue model. Eek.
Change was coming anyway
To be honest this particular site always felt like a slightly uneasy fit. The editorial team was strong but the content that performed best was the stuff no one really wanted to write: high-volume, SEO-friendly, easily commoditised; Lists, comparisons, guides etc. The kind of content that didn’t require that level of talent but got clicks.
So, this was a timely opportunity to pause and reflect on the future direction of content, particularly with the rise of LLMs and Google’s AI Mode.
These systems now simply extract and synthesise content to answer user queries directly on the results page. This means fewer clicks back to publisher websites and, when the business model is built on traffic, whether for ad impressions, affiliate revenue, or subscriptions, removing the click breaks the entire system.
Without clicks the economics of publishing, as we know it, start to unravel.
Erm, Is it broken?
I can’t shake this question at the moment that if there’s no reward for publishers to write content then…well, why (and commercially - ‘how’) would they write it? The AI systems need this content to keep learning but they’re literally biting the hand that feeds them. So, what do we do?
This reminds me of the shift from print to digital newspapers
I recall back in the day when the Internet became a thing that newspapers really resisted putting their content online as it would hurt physical paper sales. ‘Why would we give it away for free?’ they said. ‘People will stop buying the paper.’
And they were right, people did.
But the mistake was thinking the problem was about selling newspapers. It wasn’t. It was about finding a way to make money online where distribution was free and clicks became the currency.
So publishers adapted.
They moved online, not because they wanted to, but because they had to for reach. Eventually, many landed on the same answer for revenue: ad revenue, affiliate deals and sponsored content for free users and subscriptions/paywalls for premium content and power users.
The model was simple:
- Publish content.
- Rank in Google.
- Get traffic.
- Monetise with ads, affiliates, or subscriptions.
It wasn’t elegant. But it worked for a long time.
What’s the New Revenue Mechanism?
The move from print to digital felt, in hindsight, almost liberating. It opened things up. Anyone with something to say could publish, grow an audience and make a living.
But this new shift from digital to generative feels different as, rather than liberating its almost… gatekeeping or well, just highly capitalist. Bear with me;
Now, the platforms consume content, summarise it, strip it of attribution, and serve it back without a reason to click. The big players take the value, keep the user in their ecosystem, and the pawns are left with the cost. It’s just not sustainable.
Publishers need a new model, or just a different mindset. But what that looks like is currently unclear (well to me anyway) and how publishers survive the transition still isn’t.
And that’s the uncomfortable truth right now: the economics are broken, and the next system isn’t apparent.
Where Do We Go From Here?
So what are the options? I’m hopeful smarter people than me will figure this out, but here’s where I’m at;
1. Rethink the Role of Search
Search is likely to no longer be the click machine it once was. But it still plays a role as a visibility layer, a brand surface. Rather than optimising to attract traffic/clicks etc you optimise to show up in the places where your audience first encounters you - even if they don’t click. Think of it more like digital PR:
- Being cited, even if lightly, becomes akin to brand placement.
- Getting your name mentioned, your product cited, your expertise surface is the objective and we measure that by visibility.
2. Consider a Two-Layer Content Strategy: Open vs. Owned?
LLMs are going to continue to scrape and synthesise content. We can’t really win that battle so maybe it’s time to stop fighting it and instead leverage it by offering a two-layered approach.
Layer 1: Open Web Content
Give LLMs your how-to, your explainers, your ‘what is’ content to establish topical authority. Think of it as your free samples. Optimise them but know they’re just tasters. They’re the bait.
Layer 2: Owned, Moated Content
Behind this, build real depth - premium explainers, community-driven insight, proprietary data, analysis, opinion. Deliver this via:
- Email newsletters (owned channel, stable reach)
- Paywalled content or member exclusives
- Private communities or subscriber-only spaces
In other words: give enough away to earn trust - but keep the value behind your own walls.
I appreciate this is somewhat paradoxical and it introduces some tension.
The truly high quality content that essentially proves your authority is also closed and inaccessible. If we hide it, how are we meant to establish ourselves as trustworthy experts?
Maybe the answer is uncomfortable.
Maybe we need to have more faith that if we open up our expertise, do the right thing by the reader, and focus on helping we’ll be rewarded. Not always with clicks. Not always with attribution. But with recognition over time.
The hard part is trusting systems that haven’t earned our trust and, frankly, have a history of being greedy.
Paywalls however are also just hugely unpopular and it’s a battle publishers have been facing for decades.
3. Don’t Bet It All on Search?
Sites that rely solely on search, and those who are all-in on SEO, are going to struggle with this shift. This has been brewing for years, but it’s accelerating now.
Any business that doesn’t invest in brand building and diversify its traffic sources is on borrowed time as the tap is turning off.
Some strategic channels to consider:
- Email: Still the most reliable channel you own. Build your list like your life depends on it.
- YouTube & Shorts: I think video is going to explode as it's a) not as commoditisable and b) younger generations prefer video as a medium over text.
- TikTok & Instagram Reels: Younger generations don’t really care about Ai and search - they get their info from shorts and reels.
- Podcasts: Build niche loyalty and multi-task-friendly engagement.
- Syndication: Partner with non-competitive sites to share audiences (especially in your vertical).
- Reddit/Discord/Slack: Community-driven spaces are SEO-proof and loyalty-rich.
Rethinking Revenue Mechanisms for Publishers
So, what are the options?
| Revenue Model | Description | Viability in LLMs | Considerations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display Advertising | Revenue from ads shown on pages via networks (e.g Google AdSense). | Massively declining – AI overviews reduce click-through to pages. | Dead |
| Affiliate Marketing | Commission earned by referring users to buy products or services. | Under threat - AI summarises products ‘well enough’ and bypass affiliate links. | Dead |
| Paywalls / Subscriptions | Users pay for access to premium or gated content. | Viable for unique insights or high-value analysis. | Needs a strong brand and differentiated content. |
| Sponsored Content / Partnerships | Brands pay for co-created or featured content. | Viable as long as the audience remains engaged and targeted. | Reputation risk if overdone or misaligned. Less clicks means lower but more engaged/relevant visibility |
| Syndication | Selling or licensing content to third-party platforms. | Viable - if content is high quality and in demand. | Can build authority, but not always lucrative. |
| Email List Monetisation | Advertising or promoting offers via a high-quality email list. | Strong - owned audience is resilient to platform changes. | Needs consistent value delivery and trust. Google can scrape Gmail content to steal that content from you too. |
| Events / Courses / Webinars | Monetising expertise via in-person or digital offerings. | Growing - AI can’t replicate live interaction and community. | Labour-intensive; brand trust is critical. Similar to how musicians make more from gigs than Spotify plays and use it more as a promotion platform. |
| Merchandise / Physical Products | Selling branded goods or products tied to content. | Niche - works well for lifestyle/media brands with loyal followings. | Not scalable for all, but can boost brand loyalty. |
| Tokenisation / Micropayments | Users or platforms pay small fees to access or reference content (e.g., web3-based). | Experimental - limited adoption; unlikely to scale near-term. | High friction, low adoption; regulatory and UX challenges. |
| Data Licensing / API Access | Charging AI providers or platforms to access proprietary content/data via APIs or licensing. | Emerging - potential long-term model if frameworks and demand mature. | Requires legal clarity and industry cohesion. I think the horse has bolted on this one. |
| Donations / Crowdfunding | Relying on voluntary contributions from users (e.g. Patreon) | Viable for niche or activist content with loyal audiences. | Not sustainable for most without a passionate following. |
Final Thoughts
There’s an inflection point coming, and it’s going to be both fascinating and uncomfortable to watch.
Either the platforms that scrape, summarise, and repackage content will need to find ways to return value to the people creating it, or we’ll see a shift toward more content going private: paywalled, gated, or withdrawn entirely from the open web.
My instinct says the latter is more likely as its already started so it’ll just accelerate from here. The web will fracture into two layers - one of surface-level, commoditised information that everyone sees (which raises huge questions around bias, control, and who gets to shape ‘truth’), and another, deeper layer where the real thinking, nuance, and value lives.
Until there’s a viable revenue model for open content in the generative era, visibility alone won’t be enough.
Essentially, Publishers will need to build ecosystems that don’t depend on Google to stay alive which is actually a good thing.
