The internet’s oldest bargain is breaking down as generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools continue to consume and repurpose online content. The rise of AI bots has led to a shift away from traditional search engine optimization (SEO), where visibility in Google results was everything, to a new approach called AI Engine Optimization (AEO). This change is giving rise to a fragmented internet, with one path designed for humans and another optimized for machine readability.
According to Cloudflare, for every user that ChatGPT sends to a site, it sends 1,500 bots. Anthropic’s figure is even higher at 60,000. This surge in automated traffic has flattened human visits, sometimes outnumbering people entirely. As a result, websites and content creators are struggling to stay relevant.
The impact of this shift goes beyond mere visibility; it also affects the underlying economics of the internet. The traditional model of businesses relying on search engine rankings is crumbling, replaced by AEO strategies that prioritize machine-readability over human engagement.
Linda Tong, CEO of Webflow, describes this change as “one of the most profound shifts” she’s seen in her 20-year career running internet businesses. The shift fundamentally changes how people find and interact with brands, presenting an existential threat to some companies.
To adapt, some publishers are exposing just summaries or excerpts to AI crawlers, hoping to maintain their monetization model without cannibalizing it. However, this approach is not enough to counter the growing imbalance between human traffic and automated traffic.
Faced with this slow-motion decoupling of content from traffic, publishers are pushing back by signing licensing deals or implementing measures to control access to their content. Companies like Taboola are betting on new models that prioritize publisher relationships and trust.
In a world where bots answer first, the value of human interaction is becoming increasingly important. As Adam Singholda, CEO of Taboola, notes, “We’re human; when it matters, like your money or health or your child, we still want to know who’s talking.” The future of the internet may depend on finding a balance between machine-readability and human engagement.
Source: https://qz.com/ai-chatbots-google-search-internet-bots