The rise of generative AI has been a major topic of discussion in content discovery and SEO circles. As AI tools are increasingly able to summarize information, it raises questions about how this will impact search engine optimization and publisher revenue. Microsoft, in response to the demand for its new Bing chat experience, is working on various options to try to prevent publishers' web traffic from being decimated. 

Microsoft is exploring ways to integrate publisher revenue share elements into the chat experience, to help publishers stay afloat. These elements could come in the form of ads, sponsored content, or other types of paid placements. The goal is to find a way for publishers to still benefit from their content being discovered, even if it’s not being clicked on directly. 

Microsoft is also looking at ways to incentivize users to click through to content, such as providing more detailed summaries of the content or offering additional content that is only available by clicking through. This could encourage more people to actually visit the publisher’s website and engage with its content.

Microsoft is also working on ways to provide better visibility into the AI-driven content discovery process so that publishers can better understand when and where their content is being discovered and how they can optimize it. This could include tracking metrics such as engagement rate, time spent on the page, and more.

At this point, the full implications of generative AI on SEO and publisher revenue are still unknown. But Microsoft’s efforts to ensure that publishers are still able to benefit from their content being discovered could go a long way towards protecting their web traffic and revenue. We’ll have to wait and see how successful these efforts are, but it’s a hopeful sign that there are steps being taken to prevent AI from completely decimating the online publishing industry.

What do you think about Microsoft’s efforts to protect publisher revenue? Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts.