Unbelievably the web has been around for three decades. That is much longer than it feels for me. The web has been our main gateway to information and revolutionised the way we work, play and live. We open a browser, type a search, scan through results, and click into websites. Or in recent years, find information via our social media platforms.

These flows became second nature—so much so that it’s hard to imagine a world without it.

But a shift has already begun. The way we look for and consume information is changing fast, and it is much bigger than the death of Google Search dying. It points to a future where the web, as we know it, plays a much smaller role.

2022 was the turning point

When ChatGPT launched in late 2022, something shifted. For the first time, a machine could hold a conversation, explain things, and even help us get stuff done. Not perfectly but the direction was clear.

We were used to typing into Google and scanning links. Now we could simply ask and get an answer back.

That moment showed us the web was no longer the only interface to knowledge.

People tend to pick the easier path

When given two ways to do something, most of us will choose the one that feels simpler, faster, and less demanding. That isn’t laziness—it’s how our brains are wired. We’re built to conserve effort and reduce friction wherever possible.

Research backs this up:

• Technology Acceptance Model (TAM): people adopt technologies based on two main factors—whether they seem useful and whether they seem easy to use. Both are needed for adoption.
• Fogg Behaviour Model: behaviour happens when motivation, ability (ease), and a prompt come together. Even with high motivation, if something feels too hard, people won’t do it. Lower the difficulty, and adoption rises.
• Information Foraging Theory: humans, like animals, seek the “best return for the least effort” when searching for information. If an LLM provides a good answer faster than a website, the incentive to click through disappears.

This is why LLMs feel so compelling. Compared with typing queries, scanning links, and digging through pages, simply asking a question and getting an answer feels like the easier path—and the easier path usually wins.

It’s bigger than the end of Google Search

The conversation about AI often focuses on Google losing searches. That’s true, but the bigger shift is that we’re visiting fewer websites altogether.

When an AI can give you what you need directly, the incentive to click through is smaller. Websites are no longer deliver the content directly to the user. Instead the next generation of “websites” will deliver content to the AI for delivery to the user.

This means the way we publish information has to change. Instead, information now needs to be packaged so LLMs – and the AI agents that follow, can use it directly.

From websites to agents

Imagine the future like this:

• Instead of searching for a company’s site, you ask your AI assistant.
• The assistant checks the company’s agent (a kind of digital representative).
• That agent provides the facts, answers questions, and maybe even completes tasks such as booking or ordering.

Your “website” becomes less about pages and more about making sure your agent can answer questions and perform actions on your behalf.

The bottom line

The web won’t disappear, but the centre of gravity is shifting. We’re moving from browsing pages to getting direct answers and outcomes.

If you want to stay visible in that world, you’ll need to make your knowledge and services discoverable by AI systems, not just humans with browsers.