Tech • IA • Crypto
AI has just killed the web as we know it for 27 years
10/10TL;DR
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming web search into a conversational, agent-driven system dominated by major tech players, reshaping global power dynamics, business models, and infrastructure.
KEY POINTS
Google shifts from search engine to AI agent
Google has introduced a major overhaul of its core product, replacing traditional search with AI-driven conversational interfaces powered by Gemini. Features like AI Overviews and AI Mode deliver direct answers instead of lists of links, reducing the need for users to click through to websites. This marks the most significant change to web navigation in over two decades.
Decline of traditional SEO and web traffic
The classic model of SEO—optimizing rankings via backlinks and keywords—is losing relevance. AI systems now prioritize high-quality, original content rather than technical optimization tricks. As AI generates answers directly, publishers, e-commerce sites, and media platforms face declining traffic and must adapt to being data sources rather than destinations.
Global rollout and regulatory gaps
These AI search features are already widespread globally but remain limited in some European markets due to regulatory constraints and media lobbying. This delay risks leaving local ecosystems behind as user behavior shifts toward AI-mediated discovery, often favoring international sources.
Explosive growth in AI-driven queries
Google reports that AI usage is accelerating rapidly, with query volumes doubling quarterly. AI Overviews reach 2.5 billion monthly users, while Google’s broader ecosystem exceeds 3 billion users, reinforcing its dominance. Rather than being disrupted by AI, Google is strengthening its position by integrating it.
Race to massive IPOs in AI and tech
SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic are preparing major stock market listings. SpaceX targets a valuation near $1.7 trillion with a potential $75 billion raise, while OpenAI and Anthropic aim for tens of billions. These moves could concentrate capital and influence among a few dominant players, reshaping the tech investment landscape.
Strategic power consolidation
SpaceX combines space infrastructure, AI, and social platforms, with Elon Musk controlling about 85% of voting power. This integration enables aggressive expansion, acquisitions, and potentially new infrastructure such as space-based computing. The convergence of AI, cloud, and physical infrastructure signals a new phase of technological centralization.
China accelerates with AI models and hardware
Alibaba’s Qwen 3.7 Max model focuses on advanced agent-based systems capable of long autonomous workflows, including sessions lasting 35 hours and thousands of tool interactions. It is significantly cheaper than Western counterparts, priced around $7.5 per million tokens, intensifying competition between U.S. and Chinese AI ecosystems.
Emergence of alternative AI infrastructure
China has launched a commercial underwater data center near Shanghai, housing 2,000 servers with reduced energy consumption and no freshwater use. Combined with renewable energy sources, this approach contrasts with energy-intensive U.S. data centers and highlights diverging strategies for sustainable AI infrastructure.
CONCLUSION
AI is redefining how information is accessed, controlled, and monetized, concentrating power among a handful of global actors while forcing businesses and governments to rapidly adapt to a new digital order.