Google’s attempt to secure the AI race might have come at a very costly price. In 2Q 2024, the California-based tech giant began rolling out AI Overviews — AI-summarized responses to search queries. Shortly after, the feature was called out (and briefly recalled) for frequent hallucination, which claimed Barack Obama was the first Muslim US president, and suggested glue as the je ne sais quoi factor your pizza needed. As AI-first search engines like Perplexity gain traction for more “accurate” results — though not entirely so — Google risks being edged out of the AI race and being left with the gutted out search engine they sacrificed.

Google’s pivot was the response to a perceived threat. OpenAI was the first to introduce AI-powered search features, with Anthropic hot on their heels. In April, searches fell on Safari for the first time in Apple’s history — which Apple’s Eddy Cue attributed to users favoring AI search models. Not great news for the company that pays USD bns to be Safari’s default search engine. Last week, Google introduced AI Mode search, touting it as its “most powerful AI search experience.” AI Mode operates by doling out AI-powered responses to queries, with the option to ask follow up questions and get deeper insights. Like any other AI search engine.

If it’s not broken… Google’s new flagship feature hasn’t been met with warmth, with many going as far as accusing the Alphabet subsidiary of revenue theft. AI Mode replaces the long list of links we’re familiar with with an AI-powered interactive summary. This model reduces traffic — and consequentially, revenue — to the websites, mining their information without credit. “Google [takes] content by force and uses it with no return [to the source] — the definition of theft,” said President and CEO of the News/Media Alliance Danielle Coffey in a statement. She added that referral links “were the last redeeming quality” of traditional search engines, now cannibalized by Google.

“If you don’t like it, leave.” According to Bloomberg, an internal document shows that the tech giant didn’t give publishers the choice to opt-out of AI Mode pre-rollout — a lie by omission, seeing as they launched without announcing. And if publishers think this is no bueno? They can opt out of Google altogether. This is easier said than done, as many publishers and site owners can’t afford to jump ship on a search engine that retains control over 90% of the search market. An interesting fact to note is that Google explored the option of giving publishers a choice, but ultimately dismissed the idea. Remember when they removed “Don’t be evil” from their code of conduct in 2013? Just asking, no reason.

Reddit was the first victim. Business Insider notes that popular news aggregation and forum platform Reddit’s exponential growth was largely due to being prioritized in Google searches for its wealth of experience-based content. Following the announcement of AI Mode, Reddit stocks dropped 5%. Analysts predicted the drop in traffic was in no small part due to Google’s search overhaul. Reddit Co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman still hopes that Reddit communities might offer a much-needed escape from AI search, BI reported.

Buried alive: Because AI Mode buries original source content and delegates links as merely backup support rather than first and final destination, The Intelligencer raises a pivotal question — how will these AI-powered search engines grow, when and if they’re no longer fed new information? With publishers losing traffic, traction, and revenue, who’s to say that they won’t be pulling out of Google or losing the finances to create as much content? Search engines and publishers are codependent on one another… and AI Mode is irreversibly damaging that relationship.