IAC Inc., the media and internet holding company behind brands such as People and Better Homes & Gardens, has reported third‑quarter revenue of approximately $590 million, about $10 million below Wall Street expectations.
The company attributed part of this shortfall to the increasing impact of the “AI Overviews” feature in Google LLC’s search engine, which surfaces summarised answers instead of driving users to publishers’ websites.
According to IAC’s commentary, the shift in content distribution caused by Google’s AI‑driven summarisation has materially affected traffic to its digital properties and thereby pressured its digital‑advertising monetisation. In effect, fewer users are landing on publisher pages, reducing ad impressions and weakening revenue yield per user.
This development is significant for the broader marketing and media‑technology ecosystem. As search platforms deploy more generative‑AI features and answer boxes that keep users on the platform rather than sending them to external sites, the traditional model of publishers monetising clicks and impressions is under increased stress.
For retailer‑and‑brand marketers, the implications are twofold: first, media buying strategies must account for changing traffic flows and diminishing publisher inventory; second, content strategy needs to adapt—brands may need to invest more in owned channels, direct engagements, or platform‑native formats rather than relying on legacy search referral traffic.
For the omnichannel retail community, the ripple effects are material. Retailers and their brand partners often depend on digital‑media inventory, search referrals and promotional lift via third‑party content platforms.
If the media economics shift due to AI‑driven search disruptions, that influences how marketing budgets are allocated, how campaign ROIs are measured, and how content is developed in coordination with retail experiences.
In short, the IAC outcome offers a case study of how AI in search can upend publisher revenue flows—and forces marketers and retail executives to reassess strategy accordingly.
