Google's AI Search Threatens Open Web

Google has been using AI to change how its search works.

Instead of showing lists of links, it now gives answers directly from its AI chatbot, Gemini.

This means people spend more time on Google and less time visiting other websites.

Publishers and websites are worried because they get fewer visitors, which can hurt their businesses.

Google says it still sends lots of traffic to other sites, but some studies show that many people stay on Google's AI Mode without clicking on external links.

The Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, has also seen fewer human visitors because AI bots are scraping its data.

Some countries, like the UK, have asked Google to make changes to help publishers.

While some think Google is still helping the open web, others are worried about the future of the internet as we know it.