# The case for and against turning off Google crawlers > Source: > Published: 2026-08-25 04:01:00+00:00 Join us Sept. 14-16 in Miami to connect with top publishing leaders [SECURE YOUR SEAT](https://digiday.com/events/digiday-publishing-summit-sep-26/?source=display&utm-source=display) Subscribe: [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-digiday-podcast/id962605432) • [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/21TOeNMf1BLdSlQEdJ2rYY) Gone are the days where publishers enjoyed a surplus of search traffic referral. AI bot crawlers have usurped those eyeballs. Publishers, however, aren’t taking the changes lying down. The degradation of search referral traffic isn’t new. The writing has been on the wall since the advent of AI chatbots. Now, AI features are keeping users on Google’s platforms longer and the Google-publisher value exchange is in free fall. “AI search is only growing and it’s not going anywhere. That search referral is not coming back,” said Sara Guaglione, media reporter at Digiday. Guaglione recently joined the Digiday Podcast alongside executive editor of news Seb Joseph to discuss publishers’ so-called zero-click future. Guaglione later added, “Now, we’re at this place where publishers are feeling more confident, I would say, in threatening to block Google’s crawlers because they’re not seeing that value exchange.” A threat, however, is different from a promise to follow through — especially considering what’s at stake if a publisher walks away from the tech behemoth. Here’s the case for and against publishers cutting off Google: **The case for blocking Google’s bot crawlers** The broken value exchange is the lynchpin in the case for blocking Google’s bot crawlers. Google got content for its search results and publishers got traffic they could monetize. That deal is broken and the numbers prove it. Search referral traffic is down 30% to 40% for some publishers, Guaglione said. If search referral traffic was already enflamed, consider AI search jet fuel. Google’s crawlers now also feed AI Overviews and AI mode, which use publisher content to generate summaries without sending users back to publisher sites. Even in AI licensing deals publishers [have inked with AI companies](https://digiday.com/media/publishers-scorecard-for-big-techs-ai-licensing-deals/), there’s a lot left to be desired, publishers say. Publishers have experimented with subscriptions, newsletters, events and memberships to reduce the dependency on search. None have pulled the trigger, however, in cutting Google off in favor of these other business models. “There are so many issues that come with switching off Google that I just don’t think it’s as easy as, ‘Publishers are at that point now where they’re thinking about it, and it’s just a matter of time before they do’,” Joseph said. Those issues are home to the case against. **The case against blocking Google’s bot crawlers** Publishers have worked to diversify their businesses, but subscriptions and events may not yet be strong enough to fully replace search. Take People Inc., for example. About 21% percent of the company’s traffic [still comes from Google search.](https://digiday.com/media/people-inc-ceo-were-not-turning-off-google-crawlers-yet/) That figure is down from 25% last quarter, “but still, 20% of your traffic is a lot,” Guaglione said. Google is a behemoth. If one publisher walks away, there’s a chance the search engine will route users to rival publishers, blogs or even brand-owned content hubs. But, there’s strength in numbers. If multiple publishers were to push back on Google’s crawlers, the tech company may listen. At the same time, the industry has seen that playbook before. “Publishers will need to be wary of that coming across as being coordinated action as well,” said Joseph. “Any movement like that would need to be very carefully choreographed in order for it not to get turned against them later on down the line.” Recall two years ago, advertisers cut off funding from X. That resulted in an antitrust lawsuit and the [disbanding](https://digiday.com/marketing/lawsuits-against-garm-call-into-question-the-politics-behind-brand-safety/) of the Global Alliance of Responsible Media (GARM), a voluntary committee setting industry standards. ### More in Podcasts #### [ Marketers embrace AI across workflows, but questions over guardrails and job impacts remain ](https://digiday.com/podcasts/marketers-embrace-ai-across-workflows-but-questions-over-guardrails-and-job-impacts-remain/) As AI moves deeper into agency workflows, marketers are still figuring out the guardrails—and what it means for entry-level jobs. #### [ Why agentic media buying is becoming a client-by-client configuration job ](https://digiday.com/podcasts/why-agentic-media-buying-is-becoming-a-client-by-client-configuration-job/) Butler/Till is expanding its agentic media buying tests, highlighting the challenge of adapting AI to different client needs. #### [ Stagwell’s Curate launch puts agencies’ ad tech ambitions in focus ](https://digiday.com/podcasts/stagwells-curate-launch-puts-agencies-ad-tech-ambitions-in-focus/) Agencies want more control over the pipes of programmatic advertising. Stagwell’s Curate is the latest example.