Friday Focus: Google’s upcoming AI Overview has the power to devastate small and medium-sized businesses
Friday Focus: Google’s upcoming AI Overview has the power to devastate small and medium-sized businesses
Rudyard and Janice devote today’s entire show to one of the biggest news stories of the year that is not being covered by mainstream outlets: an upcoming change in the Google search engine that will have a devastating effect on everything from business profitability to how we consume news. Google’s AI Overview provides AI-generated summaries instead of links to websites, which when tested in Britain resulted in a 50% drop in site traffic. 90% of Canadians use Google as their preferred search engine and smaller and medium-sized businesses rely on Google to drive traffic to their websites. Even an optimistic 25% drop in web traffic to these businesses could mean the difference between being in, and out, of business. AI summaries are also going to transform the news industry, relying on one or two big media organizations for sources while shutting out independent and diverse voices. What role can the government play in mitigating the devastating effects this AI mode will have on our culture and economy? And what can businesses do to survive this AI avalanche that is just around the corner?
Thank you to this week’s Munk Curators and Supporters. Your contribution supports our efforts to bring back civil and substantive dialogue to the public square.
Supporters:
Colin W
John W
Robert B
Mitchell W
Jim S
Chandrasekhar S
Malcolm L
Nancy B
Danna S
Roland K
Nancy W
Clinton M
Peter A
Shima A
Esther C
Michael G
Lorraine K
Susan S
You may also like

July 3, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: how do you negotiate with Donald Trump?

July 10, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: irresponsible tax cuts on both sides of the border

July 15, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: Canada seeks to diversify its trade partnerships beyond the U.S

July 23, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: we are living through the golden age of conspiracy theories

July 29, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: The EU-US trade deal should serve as a warning to Canada and why supply management hurts the poorest Canadians

August 6, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: America’s checks and balances are failing to restrain Donald Trump

August 19, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: a phony peace deal for Ukraine could put all of Europe at risk

August 26, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: the US slides towards dictatorship and Carney clings to Canada’s peacemaking past

September 3, 2025
– Listen
Munk Dialogue with Andrew Coyne: A public display of friendship between China, Russia, and India is a searing indictment of Trump’s foreign policy

September 10, 2025