Wikipedia — long praised as one of the last “good corners” of the internet — is starting to feel the effects of major shifts in how people find information. According to a new post by Marshall Miller from the Wikimedia Foundation, human page views have dropped by 8% compared to last year.

The decline became clear after Wikipedia updated its bot-detection systems. The changes revealed that part of the previously high traffic, especially in May and June, came from bots designed to evade detection. Once those were filtered out, human traffic appeared lower than expected.

Miller links this downward trend to the rise of generative AI and social video. More people are getting quick answers directly from AI search summaries rather than clicking through to original sources, and younger users increasingly rely on platforms like TikTok and YouTube for information. (Google, however, disputes that its AI summaries reduce website traffic.)

Despite the drop, Miller insists that Wikipedia’s role remains crucial — even if readers don’t visit the site directly. “Knowledge from Wikipedia still reaches people through many channels,” he says. The foundation itself has experimented with AI-generated summaries but paused the project after community backlash.

Still, fewer visits carry real risks: with less engagement, there may be fewer volunteer editors and fewer donors supporting Wikipedia’s open-knowledge mission. To address this, Miller calls on AI, search, and social platforms that use Wikipedia’s content to drive users back to the source.

The foundation is also taking proactive steps — developing a new system for proper content attribution and creating teams dedicated to reaching new audiences. It’s actively seeking more volunteers to keep the encyclopedia growing.

Miller’s message to readers is clear: support real, human-curated knowledge.
“When you search online,” he writes, “click through to the original sources. Talk to others about why trusted information matters — and remember that the content behind generative AI was created by real people who deserve your support.”

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