Wikipedia's traffic is down, and AI tools are to blame
Wikipedia's getting fewer visits lately. Human pageviews fell roughly 8% year-over-year in recent months (reported as of March 2026).
The Wikimedia Foundation points to AI tools and social video apps changing how people look up information.
Google's AI Overviews, which pull content from sites like Wikipedia, now answer questions right on the search page, so many users may not click through to the original articles.
Wikimedia's response to the situation
With fewer clicks, there's a risk people forget where the information comes from, and that could mean fewer volunteers and donations.
To adapt, Wikimedia launched new data services for tech companies in 2025 and set up ways to make sure they get credit.
They're also asking big platforms using their content to send some of that traffic back their way.