▶  Publishers & News · S5E118 · · May 11, 2026

Breaking News Is Up 103% While Evergreen Tanks – Shahzad Abbas on AI Overviews

Guest: Shahzad Abbas, VP, AI and Search Strategy at Define Media Group, Inc
Hosts: Jon Clark & Joe DeVita

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about this episode

AI isn’t killing news SEO — but it is forcing publishers to rethink where visibility, traffic, and value really come from. In this episode of the Page 2 Podcast, Jon Clark sits down with Shahzad Abbas, VP of AI and Search Strategy at Define Media Group, to explore how AI is transforming the economics of news publishing, search visibility, and audience growth. Shahzad shares insights from a massive analysis of billions of clicks, revealing why breaking news is still thriving, how Google Discover is overtaking traditional search for many publishers, and why that traffic may be less valuable than it appears. The conversation digs into the changing role of SEO, the rise of answer engines, AI-driven search behavior, and what publishers need to do to stay visible as the search landscape evolves.

In This Episode

  • Why breaking news still performs well in an AI-driven search world
  • How Google Discover is changing traffic patterns for publishers
  • Why Discover traffic can be high-volume but lower-value
  • What AI search means for newsrooms, publishers, and SEO teams
  • How publishers should rethink visibility beyond traditional Google Search 
  • The role of Search Console data in understanding real performance
  • Why collaboration, experimentation, and adaptability matter in modern SEO
  • Shahzad’s perspective on leadership, consulting, and building strategy in fast-changing environments

This episode is a valuable listen for publishers, SEO professionals, content strategists, and media leaders trying to understand what visibility looks like in the age of AI and answer engines.

Connect with Shahzad Abbas

Shahzad on LinkedIn

Chapters

  • 0:00

    Intro

  • 1:42

    Welcome & guest introduction

  • 2:00

    Shahzad’s path from Cambridge English Lit to SEO

  • 6:16

    Reading habits and AI’s impact on writing

  • 9:05

    Why Shahzad refused to use AI to write the AI Overviews study

  • 11:12

    Advising publishers on AI-generated content

  • 13:54

    The AI Overviews study: setup and hypothesis

  • 19:59

    Discover vs. Search: traffic value and conversion

  • 23:27

    What this means for local news publishers

  • 26:25

    Discover ranking factors and the 1,200px rule

  • 31:55

    Training editorial teams on news SEO fundamentals

  • 34:53

    Title tag updates and breaking news indexing

  • 36:48

    Discover’s first official algorithm update

  • 37:34

    Publish first vs. publish best + the date problem

  • 40:52

    Lessons from TV Guide and the AI disruption cycle

  • 45:58

    Rapid-fire round

  • 51:44

    Where to find Shahzad

Resources mentioned