First Full Month of AI Overviews in France: All Top 10 News Sites Lost 11-30% of Search Traffic
gaganghotra_ · x · 2026-09-12
Similarweb data comparing August vs July after Google's July 22, 2026 launch of AI Overviews and AI Mode in France shows sharp sector divergence:
- News & media: all 10 leading sites declined 11.3%–29.6% (Le Monde -29.6%, Le Parisien -26.6%, Le Figaro -23.4%), with losses tracking how many AIOs appear in their SERPs.
- Ecommerce: 6 of 10 grew — Temu +21.9%, Fnac +4.2%, Leboncoin +2.9% — while Amazon dipped -1.2%.
- Real estate: 7 of 10 grew (PAP +4.6%, SeLoger +1.3%; Bienici -3.4%).
The takeaway: AI Overviews hit information-driven publishers hardest, while transactional verticals are largely unscathed or even gaining.
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