Google's AI Search Overhaul Limits Access to Open Web

Google has introduced AI Mode, powered by its Gemini chatbot, which replaces traditional hyperlink search results with conversational answers generated by artificial intelligence. The company also updated its search box for the first time in 25 years, allowing users to add photos, videos and assign AI agents to run searches. Studies cited by The New York Times show users now spend one to nine minutes longer in AI Mode, and an October Growth Memo analysis found that about 75 % of sessions never leave AI Mode for the open web.

The shift marks a departure from the company's original mission, articulated by co‑founder Larry Page in 2004, to provide free, unbiased access to high‑quality information via the open web. For publishers, businesses, banks and other sites that relied on Google to funnel billions of clicks, the move reduces external traffic and could reshape how content is discovered online. Google vice‑president of search Liz Reid confirmed the company is sending out “relatively stable” billions of clicks each day, now increasingly consumed within the AI‑driven interface.