Is Google’s New Move a Threat to the Internet?

By all accounts, Google’s latest innovation is ambitious. It promises to make search faster, smarter, and more helpful. But critics say the company may be quietly rewriting the rules of the internet, and not in a way that benefits everyone.

At the centre of the debate is Google’s new AI Mode, a feature announced on May 20, 2025, by CEO Sundar Pichai. Unlike the existing AI Overviews, which generate summaries but still display traditional links, AI Mode aims to give users a complete answer to their query, no need to click anywhere else.

To the average user, that might sound convenient. But to the millions of publishers, writers, and creators who depend on Google Search traffic, this could be a digital earthquake.

The old deal that held the web together

For decades, the internet has functioned on a kind of handshake: websites let Google crawl their content for free, and in return, Google Search directs users to those sites, where businesses can earn through ads, subscriptions, or sales. 

In fact, nearly 90% of all search activity globally happens on Google, making it a major traffic engine for the open web.

But that handshake is loosening. AI Mode doesn’t just help you find content, it is the content. It generates full answers on the spot, often citing sources but not necessarily encouraging users to visit them. And that shift is worrying to many.

“It could be the difference between having a viable publishing business and going bankrupt,” said Barry Adams, founder of SEO firm Polemic Digital.

The beginning of the “Machine Web”

Google argues that AI Mode will enhance search, not break it. The company claims it still drives “billions of clicks” daily and insists AI will help users ask deeper, more complex questions, opening new paths to discovery.

But critics say the evidence doesn’t support that. Studies show that features like AI Overviews already reduce the number of clicks websites get from Google, in some cases by as much as 70%. What’s worse, over 60% of searches now end without any clicks at all, a trend known as “zero-click search.”

If AI Mode becomes the default as many expect it will publishers fear the fallout could be massive. Blogs, news sites, independent forums, and small businesses could all see their traffic collapse, simply because Google now answers questions directly, rather than pointing people elsewhere.

“If Google becomes both the question and the answer, the rest of us might not have a seat at the table anymore,” said Gisele Navarro, managing editor at HouseFresh.

Is it a shrinking digital ecosystem?

This isn’t the first time people have predicted the end of the web. In 2010, Wired magazine famously declared, “The Web is Dead.” That prediction turned out to be premature. Yet the concerns today feel different.

The fear is not that the internet will disappear, but that it will shrink culturally, financially, and structurally. If only the biggest platforms or brands can afford to compete with Google’s AI, the rest of the web could become an afterthought.

There are also concerns about diversity of thought. AI relies on data, and that data often comes from a narrow set of sources. If fewer people visit independent sites, those voices may vanish. What remains could be a web that looks and sounds the same curated, predictable, and controlled by algorithms.

“It’s like asking a librarian for a book, and instead of pointing you to the shelves, she just gives you a summary,” Navarro said. “You lose the depth, the surprise, the chance to explore.”

Google’s Response: Don’t Panic

Google insists these fears are exaggerated. Senior VP Nick Fox recently said that the amount of quality content on the web has grown by 45% in two years, not including spam. Google believes AI tools will help users navigate that growing ocean of information, not destroy it.

From their perspective, AI Mode is a natural evolution. People want faster answers. They want context, not just links. Google says it is simply adapting to those expectations, while still investing in the open web.

Yet the company has been vague about how it plans to measure or mitigate the potential impact on websites. For many publishers, that’s the most worrying part.

What Happens Now?

Whether AI Mode improves the internet or damages it may depend on how it’s used and how much control users and content creators actually have. Right now, the feature is optional. 

But if it becomes the standard, we may all have to adjust to a web where Google doesn’t just help us find answers, but becomes the source of them.

One thing is clear, we’re entering a new chapter of the internet, one shaped less by humans and more by machines. Whether that makes the web richer or poorer remains to be seen.

But for creators, publishers, and everyday users alike, the stakes have never been higher.