The publishers’ guide to being gaslit by tech platforms (the AI edition)

When Google recently claimed that its AI Overviews are driving “more queries and higher quality clicks”, it struck a nerve. Too many, it wasn’t just out of touch; it was patronizing, another reminder of how far the platform’s incentives have drifted from theirs.  

The message came via a blog post from Liz Reid, Google’s head of search, who painted a picture of stability: organic traffic holding steady, click quality improving and publishers supposedly getting more value from search than they did a year ago. As for the growing pile of third-party reports showing steep drops in traffic? Reid waved them off as flawed — built on bad data, edge cases or trends that started before AI Overviews even launched. 

But Google isn’t alone in rewriting the story. Across platforms, the same playbook is in use: soften the language, reframe metrics, show up to the odd industry event with platitudes. This guide unpacks the tells — how to spot the spin before it becomes the story. 

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