Most Google searches now return with a series of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated snippets that allegedly summarize information provided by linked websites. How it determines which details to display and whether pro-Second Amendment websites get equal consideration in results is a closely guarded, Silicone Valley secret.
The summaries, which began appearing in May 2024, are negatively impacting nearly every firearm-related website today and the pace is accelerating. Year-over-year firearm sales figures are on a similar tangent.
Dangerous Information
Most people readily recognize how false-information snippets can appear in search results. Others are not as experienced.
Hunters heading afield this fall, for example, should heed advice dispensed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in August. It warned some of the overviews on its regulations appearing on Google searches were wrong. Sportsmen who follow them—instead of consulting the state’s real regulations on its official website and publications—could face citations, fines and even loss of license privileges.
That’s minor compared to some of the more dubious advice dispensed by AI last year. A SearchEngineLand report found snippets explaining how to make pizza sauce thicker with glue, relaxation tip with a toaster in a bathtub and more.
And don’t assume it has vastly improved. An eWeek story in May states, “AI initially seemed amazing with its many capabilities including answering questions, summarizing documents, and even writing code. But there are increasing concerns about how frequently AI systems invent false information—AKA hallucinations—with error rates in some tests reaching as high as 79 percent.”
Not Just Guns
Gunmaker websites, gun blogs and firearm websites are not the only victims of AI’s attempt at monopolizing information. A Pew Research survey conducted in March 2025 found, “… Google users were less likely to click on result links when visiting search pages with an AI summary compared with those without one. For searches that resulted in an AI-generated summary, users very rarely clicked on the sources cited.”
Why not simply “opt out” of having the overviews generated? According to the July issue of AI Magazine, “Publishers say they cannot opt out of having their content used for AI summaries without losing their ability to appear in Google’s general search results entirely.”
Gun Sales Down Nearly 10 Percent
The number of guns sold in August—according to a National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) estimate based on adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System volume—was 1,091,342. The fact it bounced back to above one million is good news. The bad news is the figure reflects a decrease of 9.9 percent compared to August 2024.
A story published by NSSF in September reported that several gun-friendly websites are also suffering drops in traffic compared to the same period last year—some by as much as 25 percent. Everyone interviewed agreed there was a direct correlation to the increase in Google snippets, which reduce the incentive to click through for more information.
Add censorship, restrictive “Rules of Use” and political bias, and the Right to Keep and Bear Arms headwind is stiffening. Attracting readers, subscribers, advertisers, members and new firearm owners is getting tougher by the day.
