Google’s New AI Mode Alarms Publishers Facing Steep Traffic Losses - 1

Image by Solen Feyssa, from Unsplash

Google’s New AI Mode Alarms Publishers Facing Steep Traffic Losses

  • Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

Google plans to make a significant search engine change, which will shake up the internet while intensifying the challenges faced by news organizations.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

  • Google may soon make AI Mode the default search option.
  • Publishers report massive traffic losses from Google’s AI Overviews.
  • Google says traditional “blue links” remain under a Web tab.

Google’s AI tools, including AI Overviews and AI Mode, reduce news publisher traffic since users receive answers directly without needing to click on links. HuffPost, Washington Post, and Business Insider saw declines of over 50%, forcing these companies to reduce staff and change their business strategy.

Critics call it “theft” of content. Nicholas Thompson warned, “Google is shifting from being a search engine to an answer engine.”

Forbes reports that Google Search VP of Product Robby Stein announced on Friday that users can activate the new AI Mode by visiting ‘google.com/ai.’ Users can now interact with Google through a chatbot interface instead of entering standard search queries.

good idea. I’ve felt the same way. you can now get to ai mode by heading straight to https://t.co/Q75S7fHStY https://t.co/z0m6fCyyLL — Robby Stein (@rmstein) September 5, 2025

Forbes also notes that the product lead for DeepMind, Gemini, and Google AI products, Logan Kilpatrick, announced on X that AI Mode will become the standard interface in the near future.

The risk, critics warn, is “Google Zero,” a future where Google keeps readers on its own platform and sends little to no traffic to outside sites. Digital Content Next conducted research that revealed major publishers experienced a 25% decrease in referral traffic during the last eight weeks of this year.

In a clarification, Stein said Google’s plan is not to make AI Mode the default for everyone right now, but to let people choose it more easily. “If you prefer AI mode as your default search tab, there will be a toggle or a button to do that,” he said, as reported by Bleeping Computer .

For now, the traditional “blue links” will still exist, hidden behind a “Web” tab, which users can access. Media professionals predict that AI Mode will eventually take over as the primary search interface.

As one Forbes report put it, the publishing model won’t just be strained, “it will be under siege, to put it mildly.”

Burger King and Other RBI Brands Hacked, Security Called ‘As Solid As A Paper Whopper Wrapper’ - 2

Image by M. Rennim, from Unsplash

Burger King and Other RBI Brands Hacked, Security Called ‘As Solid As A Paper Whopper Wrapper’

  • Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

Ethical hackers discovered catastrophic cybersecurity weaknesses in Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes systems, exposing employee accounts, drive-thru recordings, and weak security practices worldwide.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

  • Vulnerabilities allowed access to employee accounts, ordering systems, and drive-thru audio recordings.
  • Hackers found hard-coded passwords and weak API protections across all assistant platforms.
  • Passwords were stored in plain text and admin access could be easily obtained.

Ethical hackers BobDaHacker and BobTheShoplifter claim to have uncovered “catastrophic” vulnerabilities in systems run by Restaurant Brands International (RBI), the company behind Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes.

The worldwide fast-food chain operates through shared platforms, which the hackers identified as having severe security weaknesses, even though they manage 30,000 locations. The BobDaHacker blog described the security measures as “as solid as a paper Whopper wrapper in the rain,” as noted by Tom’s Hardware (TH) who first reported this story

The security flaws enabled the hackers to gain access to employee accounts, ordering systems, and listen to recorded drive-thru conversations. The ethical hackers received no response from RBI after they properly notified the company about the security issues, as explained by TH.

All three brands’ assistant platforms shared identical security vulnerabilities. TH reports that a hacker who gained entry to the system could modify employee accounts, manage store devices and equipment, distribute alerts to locations, and perform additional actions.

The vulnerabilities were discovered through a combination of careless API configurations and GraphQL introspection. The hackers found a signup endpoint that bypassed email verification, revealing passwords in plain text.

“We were impressed by the commitment to terrible security practices,” they wrote, as reported by TH. Using a GraphQL mutation called createToken, they could “promote ourselves to admin status across the entire platform.”

Additional security blunders included hard-coded passwords on store tablet interfaces and equipment ordering systems, sometimes set simply as ‘admin.’

TH reports that the hackers gained access to complete unprocessed audio recordings of drive-thru orders, which sometimes contained personal information. The hackers gained access to bathroom rating screen systems, yet they chose not to modify them.

The BobDaHacker blog emphasized that “no customer data was retained during this research,” following responsible disclosure practices, as reported by TH.

This exposé highlights serious risks across major fast-food chains and underlines the importance of robust cybersecurity practices in global enterprises.