Study Finds a Third of New Websites Are AI-Generated

Source: Slashdot

Study Overview

Researchers working with data from the Internet Archive have discovered that a third of websites created since 2022 are AI‑generated, according to a report from 404 Media. The team—comprising members from Stanford, Imperial College London, and the Internet Archive—published their findings in a paper titled “The Impact of AI‑Generated Text on the Internet.”

The research indicates that AI‑generated text is making the web “more cheery and less verbose.” The authors warn that the proliferation of AI‑generated and AI‑assisted text could degrade semantic and stylistic diversity, factual accuracy, and other aspects of online content. They estimate that by mid‑2025, roughly 35 % of newly published websites will be classified as AI‑generated or AI‑assisted, up from essentially zero before ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022.

• Original report: 404 Media – Study Finds a Third of New Websites Are AI‑Generated
• Paper: The Impact of AI‑Generated Text on the Internet

Key Findings

• Rapid growth: AI‑generated websites rose from virtually none to about one‑third of all new sites within three years.
• Content tone: The AI‑generated text tends to be more upbeat and less verbose than human‑written content.
• Potential risks: Concerns include reduced semantic and stylistic diversity, lower factual accuracy, and overall negative impacts on the quality of online information.

Researchers’ Comments

“I find the sheer speed of the AI takeover of the web quite staggering,” said Jonas Dolezal, AI researcher at Stanford and co‑author of the paper. “After decades of humans shaping it, a significant portion of the internet has become defined by AI in just three years. We’re witnessing, in my opinion, a major transformation of the digital landscape in a fraction of the time it took to build in the first place.”

Maty Bohacek, a student researcher at Stanford and co‑author, added: “As AI‑generated content spreads, the challenge is finding a role for these models that doesn’t just result in a sanitized, repetitive web. Rather than forcing models to be perfectly compliant and agreeable, allowing them to have a more distinct personality or ‘friction’ might help them act as a creative partner rather than a replacement for human voice.”