Google's AI Search Marks a Major Internet Shift

Google is changing its search experience by powering the entire search bar with the Gemini 3.5 Flash model. The update generates an AI summary of search topics that leads users into a conversation with AI Mode. Users can also search by uploading images, files, videos or Chrome tabs. The shift has the potential to reshape how people use the internet and access information. It could disrupt industries that rely on search traffic. News websites saw significant traffic declines last year as chatbots increasingly replaced Google search. Small businesses also noted drops in traffic to their sites from Google. Lily Ray, vice president of SEO strategy and research at Amsive, said the changes are going to have a devastating impact on the internet. She added that it will severely cut into the main source of revenue for most publishers. Google announced information agents that can keep users updated on new apartment listings or track market movements in a sector. The agents map out a monitoring plan and provide synthesized updates with links. A new AI agent called Gemini Spark can work on tasks in the background even when users close their devices. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company's AI Overviews now reach more than 2.5 billion monthly active users. The Gemini app has grown to 900 million monthly active users. Gemini accounts for more than a quarter of generative AI traffic, up from 7 percent a year ago, according to Similarweb. Alphabet expects to spend about 180 billion to 190 billion dollars on capital expenditures in 2026 focused on AI infrastructure and chips.