Wikipedia is frequently praised as one of the last truly valuable websites in a digital landscape increasingly dominated by harmful social networks and low-quality AI content. However, the online encyclopedia is not entirely shielded from these larger shifts. According to a recent blog post by Marshall Miller from the Wikimedia Foundation, human visits to Wikipedia have dropped by 8% compared to last year.
The foundation makes efforts to separate human visitors from automated bots. Miller explains that the recent decrease, observed “over the past few months,” became clear after improvements to Wikipedia’s bot detection revealed that “a significant portion of the unusually high traffic during May and June was actually generated by bots designed to avoid detection.”
What’s behind the drop in traffic? Miller highlights “the influence of generative AI and social media on how people look for information,” noting that “search engines are more frequently using generative AI to answer questions directly, rather than directing users to sites like ours,” and that “younger people are turning to social video platforms instead of browsing the open web.” (Google has challenged the idea that AI-generated answers are reducing search traffic.)
Miller emphasizes that the foundation is open to “new methods for people to access knowledge” and maintains that Wikipedia’s relevance remains, since its information still reaches users even if they don’t visit the site directly. Wikipedia has even trialed its own AI-generated summaries, though this was paused after concerns from editors.
Nonetheless, this evolution brings certain dangers, especially if people become less conscious of the origins of their information. As Miller notes, “With fewer people visiting Wikipedia, there may be a decline in volunteers who contribute to and improve the content, as well as fewer individual donors supporting our mission.” (Some volunteers have made headlines, such as those who reportedly stopped an armed attacker at a Wikipedia editors’ event on Friday.)
Because of this, he believes that companies using Wikipedia’s content for AI, search, or social platforms “should encourage more users” to visit Wikipedia itself.
He also mentions that Wikipedia is taking action, such as creating a new system for crediting the encyclopedia’s content. Additionally, two teams are dedicated to expanding Wikipedia’s reach to new audiences, and they are seeking volunteers to join their efforts.
Miller further urges readers to “help maintain the quality and creation of content” in a broader sense.
“When searching for information online, check for sources and follow links to the original material,” he advises. “Discuss with others why reliable, human-curated knowledge matters, and help them realize that the data powering generative AI comes from real people who deserve recognition and support.”
