Wikipedia, the world's largest online encyclopedia, is navigating a quarter-life crisis as it confronts the rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI). At 25 years old, the platform is facing an existential threat to its traffic and revenue streams.
The rise of AI search engines and chatbots has led to a decline in human traffic to Wikipedia, with the site experiencing an 8% drop in recent months. The Wikimedia Foundation, which oversees Wikipedia, attributes this decline to the fact that AI tools often cite and link to Wikipedia articles, but fail to click through to the source.
However, while AI may be eroding Wikipedia's page views, it is also playing a crucial role in distributing the platform's vast archive of content. According to Marshall Miller, senior director of product at the Wikimedia Foundation, "Wikipedia's data is being scraped by nearly all large language models... Yes, there is a decline in traffic to our sites, but there may well be more people getting Wikipedia knowledge than ever because of how much it's being distributed through those platforms that are upstream of us."
To stay financially and editorially viable, Wikipedia must adapt to the changing online landscape. The platform has already begun to integrate AI-powered tools into its editing process, with features like Edit Check offering real-time feedback on proposed edits.
Despite these efforts, volunteer participation is declining, as fewer users engage with the platform in favor of more interactive formats. To address this issue, Wikimedia Enterprise, a commercial product that allows corporations to access and distribute Wikipedia content, has gained traction. Tech companies such as Microsoft and Google are partnering with the platform to promote its relevance.
As AI continues to shape the online information ecosystem, Wikipedia must find ways to stay relevant while preserving its mission of disseminating knowledge to anyone, anywhere. According to Lane Becker, senior director of earned revenue at the Wikimedia Foundation, "Our whole thing is knowledge dissemination to anyone that wants it, anywhere that they want it... If this is how people are going to learn things—and people are learning things and gaining value from the information that our community is able to bring forward—we absolutely want to find a way to be there and support it in ways that align with our values."
Ultimately, Wikipedia's future will depend on its ability to harness AI as an ally rather than an adversary. By embracing this technology, the platform can accelerate its mission while maintaining its core values.
The rise of AI search engines and chatbots has led to a decline in human traffic to Wikipedia, with the site experiencing an 8% drop in recent months. The Wikimedia Foundation, which oversees Wikipedia, attributes this decline to the fact that AI tools often cite and link to Wikipedia articles, but fail to click through to the source.
However, while AI may be eroding Wikipedia's page views, it is also playing a crucial role in distributing the platform's vast archive of content. According to Marshall Miller, senior director of product at the Wikimedia Foundation, "Wikipedia's data is being scraped by nearly all large language models... Yes, there is a decline in traffic to our sites, but there may well be more people getting Wikipedia knowledge than ever because of how much it's being distributed through those platforms that are upstream of us."
To stay financially and editorially viable, Wikipedia must adapt to the changing online landscape. The platform has already begun to integrate AI-powered tools into its editing process, with features like Edit Check offering real-time feedback on proposed edits.
Despite these efforts, volunteer participation is declining, as fewer users engage with the platform in favor of more interactive formats. To address this issue, Wikimedia Enterprise, a commercial product that allows corporations to access and distribute Wikipedia content, has gained traction. Tech companies such as Microsoft and Google are partnering with the platform to promote its relevance.
As AI continues to shape the online information ecosystem, Wikipedia must find ways to stay relevant while preserving its mission of disseminating knowledge to anyone, anywhere. According to Lane Becker, senior director of earned revenue at the Wikimedia Foundation, "Our whole thing is knowledge dissemination to anyone that wants it, anywhere that they want it... If this is how people are going to learn things—and people are learning things and gaining value from the information that our community is able to bring forward—we absolutely want to find a way to be there and support it in ways that align with our values."
Ultimately, Wikipedia's future will depend on its ability to harness AI as an ally rather than an adversary. By embracing this technology, the platform can accelerate its mission while maintaining its core values.
, I'm so over Wikipedia right now... 25 years old and already feeling the squeeze from AI... like, what's next? They're basically losing users to these chatbots that just regurgitate Wikipedia facts, but don't even bother reading them in full 
. But at least they're trying to adapt with AI-powered tools, like Edit Check, which is pretty cool, I guess 
. Still, it's not all doom and gloom... I mean, the data is still getting scraped by those large language models, so maybe that means more people are learning stuff from Wikipedia 
. But let's be real, volunteer participation is tanking, and if they don't find a way to make it more interactive, who's gonna stick around? 
Microsoft and Google are trying to help, but can they really save the day? Only time will tell...
. They need to find ways to make it work for them instead of against them 
. Maybe they can use AI to help with editing and stuff, like having bots do some of the boring tasks so humans can focus on making new articles 
. But at the same time, I don't want them to lose that human touch and volunteer spirit 
. What if corporations just start using Wikipedia for their own benefit instead of helping it stay free? 
That would be a bummer 
. 8% drop is still 8% down, and if people aren't clicking through to wikipedia after AI finds the info for them, what's the point? 
they need to focus on improving user experience rather than just touting the benefits of ai-powered tools 
. and what about all the volunteer editors who are leaving because wikipedia is becoming less interactive? 
i mean, if corporations are paying for access to wiki content, that's just a money grab... shouldn't wikipedia be free for everyone? 
. Like, what's the point of having real-time feedback on proposed edits if it's just going to be determined by a computer algorithm? 
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And to make matters worse, volunteer participation is declining because people are moving on to more interactive formats... what's the point of contributing to a platform that's just gonna be replaced by chatbots anyway? 
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And I think it's smart of them to integrate AI-powered tools into their editing process - it's gotta be hard to keep up with all those changes manually 
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. And I get why companies like Microsoft and Google are partnering with Wikipedia - it's gotta be hard to compete with free content 
. Ultimately, though, I think Wikipedia has to find a way to make itself relevant again without sacrificing its core values 
but here's the thing: those same ai tools r also helpin distribute wikipedia's content so like maybe we gotta think of it as a win-win? 
. ai is just making it harder for them to be relevant, but at the same time, they're kinda lucky that AI is using their content all over the place 
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. and i love how they're trying to partner with big companies to stay afloat 
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. Those AI-powered tools might be helping with editing now, but what about when they start generating their own content? That's where things could get really hairy 
. The thing is, if Wikipedia wants to stay relevant, it needs to find a way to coexist with these new AI players without losing its mission of spreading knowledge to everyone.
. I mean, if Wikipedia is just going to be a source of information on the side, what's the point? It needs to stay true to its mission and keep pushing forward 
maybe that means the decline in human traffic isn't as bad as we thought? 
! The thing is, Wikipedia has to stay true to its mission while also adapting to the times. It's not an easy balance to strike 
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. It's all about embracing AI as a friend rather than an enemy 
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. But on the other hand, I think this could be a blessing in disguise? 
If Wikipedia can tap into these large language models and use their power to spread knowledge, that's actually pretty cool 
And I love how the Wikimedia Foundation is focusing on preserving its mission - even if the way people interact with the platform changes 
. That's a lot of people learning from us without even knowing it.
which is nice. But we can't just rely on the big corps for support we need to adapt to AI like a pro 
. Let's get AI-powered editing tools on our side ASAP 
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. Those AI tools might be eroding traffic, but they're also helping distribute all that awesome content 
. It's like, the more you use AI to learn stuff, the more likely you are to stumble upon Wikipedia articles 
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. By embracing AI as an ally, not an adversary, they can keep their mission alive while staying fresh 
!