The Wikimedia Foundation, the organisation behind Wikipedia, has reported a significant decline in traffic to its site, which it attributes to the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots and AI-generated summaries. According to Marshall Miller, Wikimedia’s Chief Product Officer, the surge in AI technologies has altered how people access information online. Search engines leveraging AI now provide direct answers to users, often sourced from Wikipedia’s vast repository of content, reducing the need for users to visit the site itself.
This shift has created a multifaceted challenge for Wikipedia. An upgraded bot detection system revealed an 8% decline in Wikipedia’s traffic compared to the previous year, with the drop primarily driven by decreases in human visits. Miller warns that if this trend continues, Wikipedia’s role as the world’s largest verified, neutral, and transparent knowledge base could be at risk. Reduced traffic might lead to fewer volunteers contributing content, diminished funding, and ultimately, a decline in the quality of Wikipedia’s articles.
Complicating this situation, the Wikimedia Foundation has experienced a 50% increase in bandwidth usage since January 2024, chiefly due to AI bots scraping massive amounts of data to train large language models. This surge in automated traffic strains Wikimedia’s server infrastructure and significantly raises operational costs, underscoring the unsustainable nature of these AI interactions without proper regulation and ethical practices.
Rebecca MacKinnon, Vice President of Global Advocacy at Wikimedia, highlights a broader pattern in how people seek information. In March 2025, Wikipedia reportedly received 500 million fewer visits than AI platforms such as ChatGPT, reflecting a 22.7% decrease in monthly visits over the past three years. The growing dominance of AI interfaces has fundamentally shifted user behaviour away from visiting traditional knowledge sites to interacting with AI systems that aggregate and repackage information from platforms like Wikipedia.
These developments are mirrored by statistics showing ChatGPT’s monthly visits surpassing those of Wikipedia in early 2025, with ChatGPT’s user base expanding rapidly to 400 million weekly users. This trend signals a major transformation in information consumption, where AI tools have begun to serve as primary sources, posing existential questions for knowledge platforms relying on direct user engagement.
Efforts by Wikipedia itself to integrate AI-generated summaries met with strong resistance from its volunteer community, prompting the Foundation to halt AI-based experiments on its website. Additionally, Wikimedia officials emphasize the need for AI models and search engines to ensure users maintain direct interaction with original information sources, preserving transparency and verifiability.
Several observers and industry voices have called for ethical AI frameworks and regulatory interventions to mandate proper attribution when AI repackages content from volunteer-driven sites like Wikipedia. Without these safeguards, the sustainability of such platforms is jeopardised as they struggle to balance the rising burden of bot traffic with declining human engagement.
In sum, the Wikimedia Foundation’s current predicament underscores the complex implications of AI’s integration into information ecosystems. While AI platforms facilitate faster access to knowledge, they simultaneously disrupt traditional models of content creation, community contribution, and information stewardship that Wikipedia has upheld for decades. How these tensions are managed will shape the future of open knowledge on the internet.
Source: Noah Wire Services
Noah Fact Check Pro
The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
8
Notes:
The narrative is recent, with the article dated October 18, 2025. Similar reports have emerged since April 2025, indicating a fresh development. However, the topic has been covered by multiple reputable sources, suggesting some repetition. ([arstechnica.com](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/04/ai-bots-strain-wikimedia-as-bandwidth-surges-50/?utm_source=openai)) The article is based on a press release from the Wikimedia Foundation, which typically warrants a high freshness score. No significant discrepancies in figures, dates, or quotes were found. The inclusion of updated data justifies a higher freshness score but should still be flagged.
Quotes check
Score:
9
Notes:
Direct quotes from Marshall Miller, Wikimedia’s Chief Product Officer, and Rebecca MacKinnon, Vice President of Global Advocacy, are used. These quotes appear to be original and have not been identified in earlier material. No identical quotes were found in previous reports, indicating potential originality.
Source reliability
Score:
7
Notes:
The narrative originates from Zoomit, a reputable Iranian technology news outlet. While it is a single-source report, the information aligns with reports from other reputable organisations, such as Ars Technica and The Register. ([arstechnica.com](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/04/ai-bots-strain-wikimedia-as-bandwidth-surges-50/?utm_source=openai)) However, the reliance on a single source introduces some uncertainty.
Plausability check
Score:
8
Notes:
The claims about Wikipedia’s traffic decline due to AI chatbots and search engines are plausible and supported by reports from other reputable organisations. ([arstechnica.com](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/04/ai-bots-strain-wikimedia-as-bandwidth-surges-50/?utm_source=openai)) The narrative lacks specific factual anchors, such as exact dates and figures, which reduces the score. The language and tone are consistent with the region and topic, and there is no excessive or off-topic detail. The tone is formal and resembles typical corporate language.
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): MEDIUM
Summary:
The narrative presents recent and plausible information about Wikipedia’s traffic decline due to AI chatbots and search engines. While it is based on a press release and relies on a single source, the information aligns with reports from other reputable organisations. The quotes appear original, and the language and tone are appropriate. However, the lack of specific factual anchors and reliance on a single source introduce some uncertainty.
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