'The Atlantic' Gets Less Traffic But More Subscribers From Google

Like many publications, The Atlantic has seen referrals from Google decline. But The Atlantic is getting more subscribers from the Google traffic that does exist. “Google is sending us fewer people who aren’t going to subscribe,” said Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic.  The publication has 1.6 million paid subscribers and has been in the black since 2024. In another development, The Atlantic is getting micropayments from Parallel Web Systems, an AI startup that builds web search infrastructure for non-human AI agents.

Last updated Sep 18, 2026 by ATDb automated enrichment