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AI is changing the way people shop, and it’s changing who gets paid for driving purchase behavior. For years, publishers have quietly become one of the most important layers in product discovery, but they haven’t been rewarded like it.
Now, with generative AI tools (like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google’s AI Overviews) summarizing answers and skipping attribution, publishers are at risk of being cut out entirely. It’s time for that to change.
At Button, we believe that publishers are the new search engines and they deserve to be paid like them. Here’s what that means and how to make it happen.
Today, users aren’t just Googling product names. They’re browsing curated gift guides, reading “best of” lists, and watching creators break down product categories- and most importantly, these recommendations are coming from sources they know and trust. These are the first steps in many commerce journeys, and they’re powered by publisher content.
47% of users now start product discovery on marketplaces, with publisher content often preceding that step, easily outpacing traditional search engines at 24%. Publishers are delivering real value by helping consumers navigate choices. They’re filtering the noise, building trust, and influencing intent. In short, they’re acting like search engines.
As generative AI becomes the new default for search queries, it’s using publisher content to answer questions without sending readers to the source.
Zero-click searches have surged to 69%, and 37 of the top 50 U.S. publishers have seen major traffic declines since AI Overviews rolled out. Business Insider lost 55% of organic traffic between April 2022 and April 2025, with similar trends across HuffPost and The Washington Post. ChatGPT referrals still account for just 0.1% of overall traffic for most publishers despite a 212% spike in news-related prompts over the past year.
Publishers are powering discovery but not getting the click, the attribution, or the commission.
Many publishers are shifting toward cost-per-click (CPC) monetization to capture value earlier in the funnel. That’s smart, but clicks alone won’t pay the bills, especially in an ecosystem where conversions may happen days later or across different platforms, ultimately losing the Publisher last-click credit.
Platforms like Google and Amazon monetize every click. Publishers should too, and then some.
Search engines and marketplaces monetize everything: clicks, impressions, conversions, sponsored placements. Publishers should adopt the same mindset.
That means stacking:
Sponsored product placements on retail media networks drive 428% incremental ROI, and account for up to 72% of new-to-brand customer acquisition. Top affiliate programs now offer hybrid commission models like $65 CPA + 20% revenue share. Button offers proprietary marketing placements across our app-based Publishers where shopping is the focus.
The key is not choosing between revenue streams, it’s using all of them together.
At Button, we help publishers:
This gives publishers a single tool to maximize value from every commerce journey they influence, from the first click to final conversion.
AI tools and search platforms are becoming the new gatekeepers of discovery, but they’re also showing publishers the way forward: monetizing influence at every step.
By stacking CPC, CPA, and sponsored placements and using platforms like Button to bridge the attribution gap, publishers can not only survive this shift but come out stronger. Want to start stacking your revenue and get paid like the discovery engine you already are? Let’s talk.
Whether you’re looking to maximize conversions, drive app downloads, or access new inventory, we have a Button for that.
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