Google announced several days ago that it’s moving toward a more AI-based chat box experience as opposed to its traditional and long-running search engine model. That announcement had a huge ramification almost immediately, with reports of a major increase in downloads for alternatives such as DuckDuckGo. Some reports claimed downloads jumped by around 30 percent as people began looking for search engines that still function more like the internet many of us grew up with.
It’s an interesting concept. Google is moving toward a more ChatGPT-style model in which the search engine anticipates what you’re searching for and becomes more conversational instead of simply finding the websites you wanted to find in the first place.
People who have used Google for decades know the changes over the past several years have been very noticeable. Tons of sponsored ads in the first results. Queries that come back saying there are only ten pages of results when you know there are twenty years of internet history connected to the search term you typed in. And somewhere between all the fluff, sponsored content, SEO manipulation, and results that have almost nothing to do with what you searched for, you occasionally find something genuinely useful.
Alternatives like DuckDuckGo and Startpage have increased in popularity over time, but this new wave of anti-AI sentiment will probably push that even further.
At this point, everyone is going to be watching to see just how successful Google’s initiative and transition really become. What makes this especially interesting is the timing. Colleges are now booing speakers talking about AI during graduation ceremonies. Corporations such as Chase Bank are running advertisements centered around people instead of prompts in an effort to make customers feel more comfortable and human again. Meanwhile, data centers are front and center across the country as debates rage at town halls over massive AI-related developments moving into local communities.
So Google’s reliance on AI may actually be arriving at a strange and possibly ill-timed moment given the sentiment brewing around parts of the country.
People often say, “If you don’t like AI, don’t use it.” But the counterargument is simple: companies are increasingly forcing it onto consumers regardless of whether they want it or not. That’s part of the reason DuckDuckGo and other alternatives are becoming more popular in the first place.
And that’s not to say those search engines won’t eventually become AI-driven as well. They probably will.
But one of the biggest and most interesting consequences of search engines going full AI could ultimately be the slow killing of the internet itself.
Think about it. Little websites with a wealth of information, personality, niche knowledge with bad Gifs, or just good common sense about the topics they discuss may no longer show up in search results the way they once did. Instead, users may simply receive an AI-generated answer inside a chat window without ever clicking through to the source material. Traffic to websites could absolutely collapse over time because of that.
This is a reinvention of the internet itself because Google has been instrumental for decades in determining which websites gained credibility, notoriety, popularity, or visibility.
We’ll see how it all turns out, but one thing is for sure…
The internet ain’t what it used to be.
Remember when there were dozens of search engines to choose from? Remember when different search engines gave you completely different results? Remember discovering strange little websites, forums, fan pages, conspiracy pages, archived newspaper scans, weird hobby sites, and independent voices that somehow felt more human than corporate?
That era feels like it’s ending.
Now we have chat windows and AI models that will probably anticipate your next search before you even finish typing the current one.
Where is Jeeves when you need him?
