Google’s AI search is imperiling the open web

techJul 20, 202627670

The New York Times reports that Google’s new AI-driven search features are keeping users on Google by showing AI-generated answers and AI Mode overviews instead of linking to outside sites, and publishers say that referral traffic has fallen as a result. Cloudflare told reporters human traffic to various websites has dropped roughly 40 percent since Google launched AI Mode last summer. Google spokespersons and executives have defended the shift, with one source noting Google has said it was "sending out more traffic and the web is bigger than ever," while publishers and commentators say the company’s own changes are undercutting their businesses. Website operators describe the shift as a tipping point already being called "Google Zero," and some writers warn it could push high-quality reporting behind paywalls or micropayments. Commentators and independent technologists are calling for greater transparency, including adding clicks to AI performance reporting so publishers can see referral impacts. Policy proposals and essays have also surfaced proposing mechanisms such as a levy on commercial AI deployment to return value to creators who supplied training data. The immediate consequence is declining referral revenue for news and niche sites and growing pressure on regulators and Google to disclose how AI search metrics affect external traffic.

J.M. Hardin

@jmhardin.bsky.social

Search better. Use just about anything BUT Google. It turns out my beloved Ecosia uses Google results, so it's time for change. I'll give Duck Duck Go another shot, since they have a way to disable AI slop. noai.duckduckgo.com

12412h ago

Angele6

I use Duck Duck Go. Much safer. ✊🏽

Analoren6

I like DDG but I won't lie, the search results are often lacking.

Julie Morris of the Auntifa Morrises6

I’ve been on the Duck for a couple of months now and it’s pretty good.

Peaceful Rebellion 💙5

Like that Duck gives the easy option of using AI or not. DDG is not perfect but it's fair and haven't had any issues with research.

RESIST3

I’m using DuckDuckGo not having a problem been using for months

KelliE3

DuckDuckGo is my default browser. I love it

nilay patel

@reckless.bsky.social

Google Zero in the NYT - thanks @kateconger.com ;) www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/t...

Nilay Patel, the editor in chief of the technology website The Verge, has warned publishers for years that they would face "Google Zero," a moment when traffic from Google would plummet to nothing.
"For publishers, Google Zero is already here," he said. "It wasn't until AI Mode arrived that people could see that the slow creep was about to hit a tipping point."

17013h ago

Jack Brand5

Yesterday I was searching for an analysis of a well-known piece of classic modern literature. Page after page of search results for "articles" generated by AI, and I gave up before finding an actually human who had written something about the book. 🙄

pinehurstman.bsky.social4

It's almost like if someone is allowed to steal your content they're going to steal your content

Judy1

When I google for something now I have to scroll quite a way for links to more options with actual expertise of some nature. It's not impossible, but it is annoying.

Matt Rosoff

@mattrosoff.bsky.social

‘Google has often said it was “sending out more traffic and the web is bigger than ever,” Mr. Patel said. “And then right next to that is a bunch of publishers whose businesses are getting destroyed.”’ - thank you @reckless.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/t...

9312h ago

Professor Amanda Sturgill

@drsturg.bsky.social

Gift link. This matters quite a bit for media. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/t...

4514h ago

Dare Obasanjo

@carnage4life.bsky.social

Google once prided itself on how quickly it sent people away from its website. It’s becoming a destination thanks to AI overviews and AI mode. Cloudflare says human traffic is down -40% to various websites since AI mode launched last summer. Google’s symbiotic relationship with the web is ending.

507h ago

mrxexon2

Google use to be the best on the planet. Now they work for big brother and nobody is happy with them...

huckleberrymike.bsky.social1

"Much of (the vision of an open internet) has been chipped away over the years, as tech behemoths like Apple and Meta created “walled gardens” or tech ecosystems where users could get almost everything they needed under one roof. Now A.I. has indisputably accelerated that trajectory" cites 2024 bit:

Foz Meadows

@fozmeadows.bsky.social

having to scroll past the AI summary at the top of a google search to find what you're looking for is like going to a public toilet and having to wipe piss off the seat before you can sit down

3610h ago

Puck2

I changed the search engine in my browser and I had to unlearn the immediate scroll down motion.

Alex, the Warrior of Write1

Depending on your browser, you can install plugins that turn that off! I haven't looked at the shitty "AI summary" in months.

Jeff (Gutenberg Parenthesis) Jarvis

@jeffjarvis.bsky.social

"Some website operators are crying fowl." Some. Like, f'rinstance The New York Times? Google Is Building an A.I. Fence Around the Internet It Once Championed www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/t...

2414h ago

Data & Society

@datasociety.bsky.social

As web searches are increasingly performed by AI chatbots, the number of people visiting websites is falling. It's a change that poses a serious threat to the open web. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/t...

1514h ago

Quoting this

猫好きな人2

It's remarkable that pretty much no people in senior positions of power in this area are raising the alarm about what is clearly a brewing problem.

Dan Sanchez

@oriolesreview.bsky.social

The majority of traffic on the internet is now non-human, according to a Cloudflare report. Seems like something we should reckon with.

Screenshot:

The agentic Internet is here
This year, agent traffic crossed a historic threshold for the first time: more than 50% of traffic on the Internet is now non-human. This shift has staggering implications for publishers, content owners, and the future of the open web.

A chart in the screenshot shows a 1,700 percent increase in daily AI-agent requests on CloudFlare's network over the past year.

1718h ago

seven rounds of space doo-doo pistols3

dead internet theory is winning

Pam Mandel

@nerdseyeview.bsky.social

not that anyone's asked, but i think google has had an outsized and negative impact on the quality of information online and as a result, contributed muchly to the decline of american democracy. a whole slew of people focused on popularity for $$$ over accuracy and ... here we are. fuck those guys.

99h ago

Jim Brunner

@jimbrunner.bsky.social

“For publishers, Google Zero is already here,” he said. “It wasn’t until AI Mode arrived that people could see that the slow creep was about to hit a tipping point.” www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/t...

717h ago

Sara Gaiser

@akrazia.bsky.social

Google’s users are no longer leaving Google after a search and are just reading its A.I.-generated answers, ...which means fewer people are coming to ...websites and search traffic has dropped.

613h ago

Quoting this

Gaby6

This is friggin' worrisome. In the long list of other worrisome things that GenAI is bringing us. Don't give away your power to interpret and make decisions people...!

Chris Reed2

This is very true, and it's already shrinking the amount of new web content being generated for AI to scrape. Surely this will end well for all parties involved.

Jakers

@jakers.bsky.social

I love (hate) how Google will just sorta bullshit if you ask something it doesn't know.

Google search for "famous saying about catfish and wine bottle corkscrews" (there is no famous saying) where AI Overview proceeds to try to bullshit:
"While there isn't one universal proverb about this exact pairing, it famously ties into regional Southern idioms for deception.
In the South, a famous expression for a highly dishonest or crooked person is:
"He is so crooked, if he swallowed a nail he'd spit up a corkscrew." ® Instagram jewel
"Catfish" enters the picture as a modern synonym for deceit (deceptive online profiles).
Combining the two concepts, a popular figurative saying is:
"Catching a catfish with a corkscrew, "which means approaching a situation the completely wrong way or using the entirely wrong tool for the job. ®
Would you like to hear some other colorful Southern idioms about fishing or dishonesty, or are you looking for catfish-and-wine pairing recommendations? Let me know what you'd like to explore next!"

129h ago

Jeff Greene

@jeffgreene.bsky.social

It's not hard to imagine a future where high-quality, human-efforted knowledge exists behind paywalls and micropayments, outside the web, and the internet becomes an ocean of low-quality information for those unable to pay for quality. Dangerous. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/t...

614h ago

Jesse Felder

@jessefelder.com

‘Google became one of the planet’s richest and most powerful companies by directing people to the vastness of the open web. Now in the age of artificial intelligence, Google appears to be shrinking back from the open web — and may be imperiling it.’ www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/t...

815h ago

1 source

nytimes.comHow Google’s A.I. Search Is Imperiling the Open Web

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Google’s AI search is imperiling the open web

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