A sophisticated online apparatus has been targeting government critics in Kenya, where rights groups warn of an escalating crackdown on public dissent Copyright AFP TONY KARUMBA
Website traffic is expected to drop by more than 50% by 2028 as people use AI chat tools to find answers without visiting pages directly, according to The Guardian. A new study by Loopex Digital examines the top websites experiencing traffic drops after the rise of AI chats, analysing where the shift to AIbased search has affected traffic the most.
Based on current trends, Business Insider tops the list of websites experiencing a traffic drop with the rise of AI chat tools, with monthly visits falling by 48.5% between 2024 and 2025.With the number of monthly users dropping from 122 million to 69.5 million within a year, WebMD takes the second spot for losing traffic after AI chat adoption.
The Loopex analysis includes data on monthly website visits and search volumes, tracking how traffic and searches changed as AI chat platforms grew in popularity. Websites are ranked based on their annual visit trend change, with higherranking websites being those that saw the largest drops in traffic since AI chat platforms became widely used.
Websites experiencing the latest falls in traffic
| Website | Website Visits 2024 | Website Visits 2025 | Website Visit Trend % Change | Search Trend % Change |
| Business Insider | 13.4 mln | 6.9 mln | 48.5% | 32.6% |
| WebMD | 122.0 mln | 69.5 mln | 43.1% | 15.2% |
| Dictionary | 34.1 mln | 21.3 mln | 37.3% | 36.6% |
| Stack Overflow | 12.6 mln | 8.1 mln | 35.6% | 32.4% |
| Unsplash | 26.8 mln | 17.7 mln | 34.0% | 1.3% |
| Investopedia | 40.3 mln | 26.9 mln | 33.2% | 19.7% |
| Google Translate | 225.0 mln | 151.5 mln | 32.7% | 16.7% |
| Quora | 53.8 mln | 38.7 mln | 28.1% | 33.2% |
| CNN | 59.0 mln | 47.7 mln | 19.1% | 0.9% |
| Chegg | 2.9 mln | 2.4 mln | 18.8% | 51.2% |
As indicated above, Business Insider tops the list of websites experiencing a traffic drop with the rise of AI chat tools. Within a year, monthly visits to the website fell by 48.5% as more people relied on AI to get condensed versions of articles and market updates. The number of people searching for Business Insider also decreased, dropping from 1.9 million to 1.3 million.
WebMD takes the second spot for losing traffic after AI chat adoption, as more people turn to AI chats for answers to health questions and symptom queries. The site saw a 43.1% decrease in monthly visits over the year. Google searches for the site were down 15.2% over the same timeframe.
Dictionary comes in third for sites losing traffic with the growing use of AI chats. The site attracted 34.1 million monthly visitors last year, which has now dropped to 21.3 million, as more people turn to AI chats to get definitions directly inline. During the same period, searches for the website also dropped by 36.6%.
Stack Overflow comes in fourth, losing 35.6% of its monthly users from the previous year. From 12.6 million in 2024, monthly visitors dropped to 8.1 million in 2025. The number of people searching for the site declined 32.4%, similar to what The Business Insider experienced.
Unsplash takes the fifth spot for experiencing a traffic drop as AI chats become more popular, with monthly users falling from 26.8 million to 17.7 million over the year. This 34% decline reflects users who now prefer AI chats to generate images or visuals without visiting the stock photography website.
Investopedia holds the sixth position among websites that have seen the largest traffic declines following the growth of AI chat platforms. Visitor numbers fell by 33.2% as users seeking finance knowledge now turn to AI chats for instant definitions and concept explanations. Additionally, monthly searches for the site dropped from 860.8K to 691.5K over the past year.
Google Translate secures the seventh spot, with monthly visitors falling from 225 million in 2024 to 151.5 million in 2025. Search interest in Google Translate declined by 16.7%, as many users now rely on AI chats that offer builtin translation features.
Quora ranks eighth in the list of websites hit hardest by the rise of AI chat platforms, with the number of monthly visitors falling by 28.1% within a oneyear period. Searches for the site decreased by 33.2% within the same span, as many users turn to AI chats for quick, personalized answers instead of browsing Quora threads.
CNN takes the ninth spot, with monthly visits dropping from 59 million to 47.7 million over the year. The 19.1% decrease in website traffic reflects users choosing AI chats for quick news summaries in place of visiting CNN’s website directly.
Chegg rounds out the top ten websites experiencing traffic drops following the rise of AI chats. The site’s monthly users declined by 18.8% over the year, as people increasingly use AI chats to get homework questions answered instantly without visiting the platform. Chegg also saw the largest drop in searches for the website, with 51.2%, falling from 2.9M to 1.4M over the same period.
