Signal Open web traffic is down 8% since 2023 while total search activity keeps growing

Summary

McKinsey reports that overall open web traffic has fallen 8 percent since 2023. Open web traffic here means visits people make to sites directly or by clicking through from a search engine, including ad-supported news and content sites, but not activity inside closed ecosystems such as walled gardens, retail media networks, and connected TV. The report cautions that this decline tells only part of the story. Traditional search is still highly relevant, and total search activity keeps growing even as each user runs fewer searches. What is changing fast is the search experience itself, as AI-generated summaries and conversational interfaces answer more questions without a click.