Recipe creators who built digital fortunes on Google search traffic face an existential threat from the tech giant’s artificial intelligence features. Food bloggers report traffic collapses of up to 80% as Google’s AI Mode delivers instant recipe summaries, siphoning visitors before they click through to original sites. This shift, accelerating since March, merges instructions from multiple sources into often flawed outputs, starving creators of ad revenue that sustains their businesses.

The Guardian detailed the plight in a December 15 article, quoting bloggers who call it an ‘extinction event.’ Carrie Forrest of Clean Eating Kitchen told the paper her traffic plunged 80% over two years, pinpointing Google’s AI rollout as pivotal. ‘It’s devastating,’ she said, as AI summaries now dominate search results for queries like ‘best chocolate chip cookies.’

Industry insiders trace the problem to Google’s AI Overviews, rebranded as AI Mode, which synthesizes content without always directing users to sources. This practice, criticized for violating site terms of service, has broader implications for content creators reliant on search referrals.

Traffic freefall hits independents hardest

For small operators, the impact is brutal. TechStory reported on December 16 that Google’s summaries provide direct answers, bypassing blogs entirely. Food bloggers like those at Search Engine Land saw steep drops during Thanksgiving searches, with AI generating ‘recipe slop’—inaccurate mashups like advising cooks to bake turkey at unsafe temperatures.

Newsbytes noted on November 26 that creators complain of mangled instructions, such as confusing baking times or ingredient ratios. One blogger shared with Fortune how 80% of her revenue vanished, forcing diversification into newsletters and paid communities. Posts on X echo this desperation, with users like Davey Alba highlighting AI’s role in drowning tested recipes amid holiday rushes.

The pattern repeats across outlets: Fortune described AI slop overtaking Thanksgiving planning, while Moneycontrol warned of misleading advice burying human content.

AI’s recipe remix raises accuracy alarms

Google’s system pulls from top-ranked sites but remixes them, often producing errors. Search Engine Land cited examples where AI suggested deep-frying turkey or omitting key steps, endangering home cooks. Bloggers argue this erodes trust in their tested formulas, developed over years of trial and error.

The Guardian interviewed Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen, who saw a 40% traffic dip post-AI launch. ‘Google is taking our work and not sending people to us,’ she said. Similar sentiments appear in X discussions, where Nate Hake called out AI for ‘stealing’ content and vomiting ‘recipe slop,’ linking to coverage of sites losing referrals entirely.

Broader studies amplify the crisis. A July Guardian piece on AI summaries revealed sites could lose 79% of traffic when buried below overviews, a fate now commonplace for recipe pages.

Publishers scramble for survival strategies

Food creators pivot aggressively. Some, per iAfrica.com, experiment with video content on YouTube or TikTok, where AI scraping proves harder. Others join collectives demanding compensation, echoing news publishers’ lawsuits against AI firms for unlicensed data use.

Cybernews warned on December 16 of food blogging’s potential extinction, with traffic decimation pushing creators toward Substack or direct sales. ZDNet covered Google’s search chief acknowledging publisher woes, hinting at delayed features like Personal Context that might link back more fairly—but no firm timeline exists.

PPC Land reported Google’s tests of AI summaries for select publishers on December 10, favoring majors while independents suffer, widening the chasm.

Legal and economic ripples intensify

Recipe sites’ terms often prohibit scraping, yet Google proceeds, prompting calls for antitrust scrutiny. DualMedia highlighted the ‘looming extinction crisis,’ with bloggers like Forrest warning of industry collapse without intervention.

X chatter, including from Glen Allsopp, ties this to SEO upheavals, where AI prioritizes its outputs over organic results. Newsbytes and TechStory underscore financial losses, with ad-dependent models crumbling as clicks evaporate.

As Google refines AI amid stock gains, the open web frays. Food bloggers, once search darlings, now fight for visibility in a machine-dominated arena, their fates intertwined with Big Tech’s algorithmic whims.