While Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode that threaten search visibility are triggering anxiety in the news publisher industry, significant changes in the Top Stories News Box may be reducing the visibility of news publishers right now more than the AI-powered search features. 

Of course, news publishers should not ignore the threat that Google’s AI features pose to their search visibility. If you’ve spent even a few minutes testing Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, it’s clear how serious the impact could be, with an expected significant rise in zero-click searches, especially for informational and product queries.

But as of mid-2025, the Top Stories News Box is still a primary source of Google search visibility for news publishers, and the changes happening in this popular SERP feature should be noted and addressed to remain relevant in an increasingly competitive search landscape.

If you were able to attend the WTF is SEO Top Stories Panel on June 18, you heard about the Q1 2025 trends we captured in the Trisolute News Dashboard. Below is a recap of our key findings based on both mobile and desktop SERP data.

Top Stories News Box Trends in Q1 2025: 

• The Top Stories News Box continues to shrink in size.
• The Top Stories News Box continues to decrease in SERP frequency.
• The number of publishers in Top Stories has increased.

Click to expand each image below. Analysis based on combined mobile and desktop SERP data.

Key insights: Top Stories News Box rankings have declined, with the biggest drop seen on the mobile SERP. Competition is even more fierce to earn a coveted slot in the Top Stories News Box.

One reason that the Top Stories News Box has shrunk is not related to AI features but due to controversial topics. In 2024, Trisolute conducted an analysis and were able to determine that non-controversial topics were more likely to have a larger Top Stories News Box vs controversial topics (such as politics.) This trend has continued in 2025.

Another trend impacting the Top Stories News Box and adjacent News Boxes is the rapid rise in SERP visibility of social media platforms such as YouTube, Reddit, and Instagram. While overall, news publishers still dominate in Top Stories News Box visibility, social media platforms are a growing presence that publishers need to address in their SEO strategy. Stay tuned as Trisolute News Dashboard will release a performance analysis on the Google visibility trends of social media platforms soon.

Top Stories News Box Visibility by Country, Mobile, Q1 2025

Performance snapshot by country: Top 10 publishers, Q1 2025

Click on each image below to expand.

Recommendations for News Publishers

• Publish in a timely manner: Establish a nimble breaking news workflow to maximize Top Stories News Box visibility during developing news stories.
• Be ready to pivot to related topics: The intense competition within the shrinking Top Stories News Box means publishers need to pivot to related topics quickly. With the Trisolute News Dashboard, we automatically import keywords from Google News and Google Trends, saving you time and increasing content discovery efficiency.
• Pay attention to Google signals: Review News Box headers for the types of content Google is surfacing to take full advantage of Top Stories opportunities. The Trisolute News Dashboard includes header data in our Topic Inspiration feature.
• Optimize for social media platforms: Ensure your publisher accounts on the social media platforms that Google is increasingly surfacing on the SERP are optimized for discovery. TV networks may naturally favor YouTube, while entertainment news publishers may gravitate towards Instagram. 

For further reading:

• How Publishers Can Survive (and Thrive) in the Age of AI Search | Lily Ray
• The Media Copilot: Don’t Panic
• Seriously, please stop with the new acronyms. It’s still SEO: Search Everywhere Optimization.

Not yet part of the Trisolute News Dashboard family? Request a FREE DEMO today and find out how your articles rank on Google Discover, Google News, and the SERPs!