Wikipedia Sees 8% Drop in Real Users as AI Answers Rise

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: October 20, 2025

Key Takeaways

Wikipedia's real user traffic dropped by around 8% from May to August compared to 2024, after filtering out disguised bot visits;
The decline is partly due to search engines showing direct answers, often using Wikipedia data, which reduce the need to visit the site;
Wikimedia is working on credit systems and exploring platforms like TikTok to reach younger audiences and support future growth.

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The Wikimedia Foundation has shared that the number of real visitors to Wikipedia dropped by about 8% between May and August when compared to the same period in 2024.

This change became clear after the foundation updated its systems to better spot non-human traffic. It turned out that many visits earlier in the year came from bots, especially ones based in Brazil.

Once the data was corrected, the numbers showed that actual human interest in visiting Wikipedia had gone down. One reason seems to be that search engines often give direct answers to users, without needing to link them to outside sources.

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These answers often rely on information from Wikipedia, but people no longer have to click through to see it.

Marshall Miller from the Wikimedia Foundation explained:

After making this revision, we are seeing declines in human pageviews on Wikipedia over the past few months, amounting to a decrease of roughly 8% as compared to the same months in 2024.

This trend creates a challenge for the project. Fewer visits may result in fewer volunteers contributing to articles and fewer donations from readers who help keep Wikipedia running.

In response, the foundation is working on ways to make sure sources are properly credited and exploring new ways to connect with younger people. Some of these efforts include trying out content on platforms like YouTube and TikTok.

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