Google Search Now Advises Like an Expert, While Traffic Looks for a New Job

The god of the internet, known as Google, has proclaimed a new covenant: to those who seek, it shall be given... instantly, without clicking any links. At its annual developer conference, the company unveiled the new “AI mode”—search now resembles a conversation with an encyclopedic genius who delivers ready-made truths, rather than silently tossing millions of links your way.

Officially, everyone in the US can now talk to Google like an expert, not a bureaucrat with endless folders. The idea is simple: why read various websites if you can get an answer instantly, composed by artificial intelligence (and only occasionally with a hint of fiction)? 1.5 billion people have already embraced “AI overviews,” and most now don’t hesitate to ask questions like, “what should I do if my soul, liver, and refrigerator all hurt at the same time?”

However, the “little ones”—that is, website owners—are feeling a bit down: according to analysts, over the past year, clicks from search to external resources have plummeted by as much as 30%. Satisfied with AI answers, people no longer visit websites. Google insists that competition with ChatGPT and other AI upstarts only spurs evolution, not destroys the ecosystem. But site owners are already posting laments in blogs and rewriting budgets for SEO candles.

The upcoming updates are not just about AI mode. Google is integrating its new Gemini 2.5 intelligence, testing ticket purchases and searching through video streams (you’ll finally be able to ask, “Google, what was that weird thing that just ran through my kitchen?”). And an old fear returns in a new form—Google wants to make smart glasses again, to eavesdrop and peek at you in style and with Gentle Monster’s blessing.

If you suddenly don’t feel like a VIP, Google offers “AI ultra”—a $250-a-month subscription with 30 TB of storage (so you can keep all your Google confessions and kompromat). The previous $20 now looks like a tip for a bygone era.

Will Google become even more powerful? Even its own AI assures: “Yes, definitely.” And it advises website owners to hold on tight to their traffic, before AI finally turns them into a folkloric legend.