The Affiliate & Partner Marketing Association is calling on publishers and brands to share their views on two new studies.
Both are designed to protect channel revenue and potentially unlock new budgets.
Publishers are being asked to complete a short, eight-question census on artificial intelligence. And brands are encouraged to share their views as part of the APMA’s commitment to creating content designed to address their painpoints and blockers.
AI taskforce
AI is already significantly reshaping how consumers discover products, services and information online. From Google’s AI Overviews to dedicated answer engines and conversational interfaces, the way people search is changing rapidly.
Yet despite the scale of these developments, there is little empirical evidence about what these changes mean for affiliate publishers.
Declining search traffic
Some publishers report declining traffic from traditional search, struggles with measurement and challenges in monetising content. Last year, Digiday stated that publisher referral traffic had dipped more than 10%.
The reality is that, at present, the industry lacks the robust data needed to understand what is actually happening.
By gathering insights directly from UK affiliate publishers, the APMA hopes to build the first evidence base of its kind examining the impact of AI search on the affiliate channel. The findings will help identify emerging trends, understand the scale of both risks and opportunities, and provide a clearer picture of how publishers are adapting their businesses in response to technological change.
Importantly, this research will also strengthen the industry’s voice in conversations with policymakers and regulators.
Lobbying regulators
The APMA is already engaging with organisations such as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on issues relating to search, competition and the future sustainability of publisher business models. The aggregated data enables us to advocate more effectively on behalf of the sector.
In early June 2026, the CMA required Google to give publishers more control over how their content is used by AI systems, provide clearer attribution to sources and improve transparency around AI-powered search.
The study will also inform the APMA’s first whitepaper exploring the relationship between AI and affiliate marketing. Our ambition is to provide practical guidance for publishers, brands and networks as they navigate an increasingly complex search environment.
The AI publisher search study is here.
Brand blockers
Elsewhere, the APMA’s Advocacy taskforce is seeking feedback from brands on the main blockers and challenges they have when addressing internal concerns about the channel.
Often brand-side affiliate managers are the only advocates for the channel and lack the resources they need to address concerns about reputation, attribution and value.
The focus of the group is to produce a series of guides and supporting documentation to help present the affiliate market’s strengths as well as handle objections about channel preconceptions.
The APMA’s taskforce is comprised of members drawn from agencies, publishers, networks and brands.
Feedback can be provided by a short form that asks brands the objections they face and how big a problem they are.
The brand objection form is here.
