Google is cannibalizing the web to feed AI
Google's AI Mode is rapidly growing, with over one billion monthly users. Critics argue that this shift is leading to a decline in the quality of Google Search, as it prioritizes keeping users within its ecosystem. The integration of AI features is seen as a factor contributing to this degradation, affecting clickthrough rates for traditional search results.
- ▪Google's AI Mode queries have more than doubled every quarter since its launch.
- ▪The quality of Google Search has reportedly declined, with users feeling it is designed to keep them on Google-owned properties.
- ▪AI Overviews have resulted in a 58 percent lower average clickthrough rate for top-ranking pages.
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(function() { let windowUrl = window.location.href; windowUrl = windowUrl.substring(windowUrl.indexOf('?') + 1); let messageElement = document.querySelector('.shareableMessage'); if (windowUrl && windowUrl.includes('code') && windowUrl.includes('expires')) { messageElement.style.display = 'block'; } })(); AI + ML Google is cannibalizing the web to feed AI Google Search used to direct users to web sites; AI Mode will keep them in Google's garden Thomas Claburn Thomas Claburn Senior reporter Published mon 25 May 2026 // 13:25 UTC OPINION At Google's I/O 2026 developer conference last week, the company's Search VP Liz Reid celebrated the rapid growth of AI Mode, which Google refers to as its end-to-end AI search experience. External observers refer to it as simply as the end of search.
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