Internet search and how it controls how the web works
The way we search for content in the internet is going through big changes. With significant implications for the business models of many other web-based services.
👉 What happened? The biggest player in the search market, Google, released a new feature in the EU this week (after global rollout started in May last year). It will show you an AI-based summary on top of the established list with 10 links (in around 20% of cases for now). While users used to click on the referenced links to catch the answers, they will not have to do this anymore.
They are not the first to drive these changes - Perplexity, YOU and others have spearheaded this change. But with Google owning >90% of the global search market, the impact is bigger this time.
👉 Why is this? The business model of many web-based services relies on getting traffic from Google. Consider sites for product recommendations, news, blogs, Q&A platforms (like Reddit, StackOverflow), smaller e-commerce sites … With major changes in Google's search algorithm, the traffic can drop to zero from one day to the other. With the number of users dropping to zero instantly. It has happened in the past, and is expected to happen with this kind of change on a much broader scale.
I'm not worried about the business model of Google - it will change significantly from what we know today, however. But what about small start-ups, which rely on getting consumer traffic through SEO (Search Engine optimization)?
- Getting attention will get a lot harder on the internet.
- Purely relying on the SEO will not be a business model any longer.
It will be interesting how the ongoing GenAI based disruption will change the way the internet works throughout the next months!