Skip to main content Skip to page footer
THE BRAND COMMUNITY NETWORK THE BRAND COMMUNITY NETWORK

all episodes

Traffic Apocalypse

Datalicious Podcast S5E7

How AI Search Is Transforming the Media Industry

In this episode of Datalicious, Carsten Sander welcomes six guests to the podcast studio:

  • Philipp Nessmann (SEO Expert)

  • Nadeem Qureshi (Head of Data, BCN)

  • Dr. Martin Scheurer (Head of Data Privacy, Hubert Burda Media)

  • Fabian Ulrich (Head of IP, IT & Commercial, Hubert Burda Media)

  • Oliver von Wersch (Associate Partner, Statista Strategy)

  • Philip Zeidler (Director Programmatic & Yield, audienzz)

Together, they discuss how AI-powered search technologies will reshape the digital landscape. They explore the impact on traffic, monetization models, data privacy, and SEO strategies, and raise the question of how publishers can stay competitive in a world where AI systems increasingly dominate content.

Good to know: If some technical terms in the episode aren’t clear, you can find simple explanations in our glossary.

In this episode, they discuss:
  • Challenges and opportunities from AI-powered search: How user behavior and traffic structures are changing due to AI Search, and what impact this has on publishers, marketers, and SEO strategies.
  • The road to new standards: Approaches such as Cost per Crawl or API-based data access that could make content usage by AI fairer and more transparent.
  • Data protection and licensing models as opportunities for publishers: How publishers can leverage data privacy law to protect their content and establish fair licensing models for AI usage.
  • Brand building and quality content in the age of AI: Why slow content, sustainable content, and strong brand loyalty are critical to survive in an increasingly automated digital world.
Takeaways from this episode: 
  1. New opportunities through personalized user experiences: Publishers and marketers must focus on delivering individual, high-quality, and targeted content to appeal to both users and AI models.
  2. Cooperation instead of going it alone: Publishers joining forces to develop common standards, such as APIs for content usage or dynamic pricing models, will be key.
  3. Shifting monetization metrics: Traditional reach-based models are losing importance. Instead, metrics like attention values or the quality of first-party data are moving into focus.
  4. Regulation and innovation go hand in hand: Data privacy law and new technical standards can not only solve problems but also foster innovation. European initiatives have the potential to set global benchmarks.

 

Chapters 

00:00 Introduction: The “Traffic Apocalypse” and the future of the internet

08:00 The challenge of AI Search for publishers

13:53 The marketer’s perspective: monetization despite traffic loss

19:48 SEO in the age of AI: everything new or just different?

27:36 Technological innovations: the role of the IAB Tech Lab

35:35 Data protection law as a shield for publishers

43:38 Licensing models and new business models for the future

53:22 Looking ahead: what will the digital world look like in 2029?

​​​​​​​01:14:41 Closing and personal anecdote