Google says search is dying

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Funny (or absolutely not funny) you should post this.

There's a couple of threads around this and the impact of AI on the internet economy.

The Web’s Economy Is Burning: AI Is Breaking Search [webmasterworld.com...]

Google is an illegal advertising monopoly - Judge rules [webmasterworld.com...]

Google says search is dying

slightly misleading title? google didn't say that - an apple exec said they may add "AI search engines" to Safari as options, but 'they probably won't be the default.

and google followed up with, "We continue to see overall query growth in Search. That includes an increase in total queries coming from Apple’s devices and platforms." - [blog.google ]

This is my analysis of what Google says, somewhat tongue in cheek. (Google really cannot say anything. Only people can say things, despite what press releases will have to believe. Different people at Google will say different things. The CEO will try to speak for Google, but don't believe him. Press releases and statements are to be viewed in that regard. )

If it is a slow news day just make something up. (sigh)

Search is not dead, but it is facing challenges both tech and judicial (because of monopoly, not purpose). What CAN be said is that g search will eventually CHANGE. We'll have to wait and see what impact AI and the Courts and Nation States have on the business.

Adage: We Live In Interesting Times!

Search is dead, period.
Yet, websites are not (all) dead. I predict we'll go back to the early 1990s somewhat, with people visiting daily only a handful of websites they trust (or identify with). Therefore, only websites with a strong community base/identity will survive, together with some others focused on news, especially local and niche.*
All other content-based and informative websites, small online shops, and the like are all doomed; mine included.

Search will never die out, it just changes over time. Nowadays, Social media, Tiktok, Youtube etc. are used as search engines. Google will not die out but they will adapt. If you have a website where you only post basic content, then you will have problems. If you post something unique that AI cannot replicate, you are in a better position. Small online stores have to adapt, they have to start Tiktok shops etc. etc. if they are to have a chance of surviving.

@norland

I respectfully disagree with some of your statements.

Search will never die out, it just changes over time.

AI O and ads are at the top of the page and few look beneath it. Search has not merely changed, it has been disposed of in favor of AI that is built with content stolen from us and without our permission. We have lost all value for our work.

If you post something unique that AI cannot replicate, you are in a better position.

I'm uncertain if there is anything that can be posted that will not be stolen by AI, replicated and/or modified many thousands of times. The only way to protect content is to hide it behind a login.

Small online stores have to adapt, they have to start Tiktok shops etc. etc.

TikTok has been banned in the USA though emperor Trump has given them multiple stays of execution. We can not invest in something that could close at the whim of the emperor. Other social media restricts reach to paid ads. Even with a large budget, those ads are ineffective like they are on Google because they all want to maximize revenue and that happens by delivering a poor roi for advertisers.

The web is consolidating quickly and will be under the full control of a handful of players. Most who work hard to try to survive will fail and lose even more time and money.

This thread and this article on Search Engine Land [searchengineland.com...] point to a deeper shift than courtroom drama or click redistribution: the foundational model of how users seek information is changing.

In April, Google reportedly saw a decline in search queries on Apple devices, for the first time. Apple now openly backs AI-first tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity, with plans to embed them into Safari.

Webmasters are seeing organic traffic drop 30–40%, confirmed in other thread here at WebmasterWorld, coinciding with the AI Overviews rollout, which now extract and serve our content directly, with no attribution or clicks.

Google says search is growing, but that claim is at odds with what many publishers see in their traffic dashboards.

So while Google isn’t saying “search is dying,” the combination of AI disruption, changing user habits, and antitrust headwinds means traditional search, at least as a discovery tool for the open web, is under existential pressure.

The next decade might not be about search at all. It may be about answer engines, walled gardens, and trust-driven destinations. If Google is no longer the front door, we all need to figure out what is.

As always, it would be great to hear how others are preparing.