Google CEO predicts web transformation as AI agents reshape browsing

Google CEO Sundar Pichai outlined a fundamental transformation of web interaction patterns during a May 27, 2025 interview, just one day ago, following the company's I/O developer conference. The discussion revealed growing tensions between Google's AI-driven search capabilities and traditional web publishing models, while highlighting unprecedented growth in web content creation.

The timing proves significant as Google accelerates deployment of AI mode for US users amid escalating publisher concerns about revenue impacts. The interview provides insight into how one of the web's most influential platforms views its future relationship with content creators and information providers.

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Web content surge defies AI displacement fears

According to Pichai, web content continues expanding rapidly despite predictions of AI-induced decline. "When we crawl, when we look at the number of web pages available to us, that number has gone up by 45% in the last two years alone," he stated during the interview with The Verge's Nilay Patel.

This growth contradicts longstanding skepticism about web relevance. Pichai referenced historical predictions: "Obviously in 2015 there was this famous, the web is dead. You know, I always have it somewhere around, you know, which I look at it once in a while. Predictions, it's existed for a while."

The expansion occurs alongside fundamental shifts in content creation approaches. "I think everybody as a creator like you do at Verge, I think today, if you're doing stuff, you have to do it in a cross-platform, cross format way," Pichai observed, noting creators increasingly produce multi-format content rather than focusing solely on traditional websites.

Database-driven web architecture emerges

Pichai confirmed a conceptual shift toward viewing the web as interconnected databases rather than discrete browsing destinations. When asked about agent-driven web interactions, he acknowledged: "The web is a series of databases, etcetera. We build a UI on top of it for all of us to consume."

This perspective suggests significant changes ahead for web structure and user interaction patterns. According to Pichai, future development will optimize for both human and AI agent consumption: "For a agent first web, like, you know, for a web which is interacting with agents, you would think about how to make that process more efficient."

The restaurant analogy Pichai used illustrates this dual approach: "Today you're running a restaurant, people are coming, dining and eating, and people are ordering takeout and delivery. Obviously for you to service that takeout, you would think about it different than all the tables and the clothing and the furniture."

AI transforms content format flexibility

Google's multimodal AI capabilities promise to eliminate barriers between content formats, potentially reshaping web publishing strategies. "AI will make it zero friction to move from one format to another, right? Because our models are natively multimodal," Pichai explained.

This technology could enable automatic conversion between text, audio, video, and interactive formats. Pichai highlighted existing capabilities: "We kind of tease people's imagination with audio overviews in notebook element, right? The fact you can throw a bunch of documents at it and you have a podcast."

Such functionality might help web publishers adapt content for diverse consumption preferences without additional production costs. "This notion, this static moment of like, you produce content by format, whereas I think machines can help translate it from, it's almost like different languages," Pichai noted.

Publisher revenue tensions intensify

Content publishers have escalated criticism of Google's AI-powered search features, arguing they reduce website traffic without compensation. The News Media Alliance president issued a strong statement: "Links were the last redeeming quality of search that gave publishers traffic and revenue. Now, Google takes content by force and uses it with no return, no economic return. That's the definition of theft."

The organization has called for Department of Justice intervention, representing an escalation from previous discussions about traffic impacts to direct legal threats. This criticism follows Google's introduction of AI mode, which provides conversational search experiences that may answer user questions without requiring clicks to external websites.

Pichai defended Google's approach, emphasizing continued commitment to web traffic distribution. "I think part of why people come to Google is to experience that breadth of the web and go in the direction they want to, right? So I view us as giving more context," he stated.

Traffic distribution patterns evolve

Despite publisher complaints, Pichai maintains that Google continues expanding traffic distribution across broader source sets. "We are definitely sending traffic to a wider range of sources, publishers, because, just like we've done over 25 years, we've been through the same with featured snippets," he explained.

However, individual publishers may experience decreased traffic as Google distributes referrals more broadly. "People may be, you know, surfacing more content, looking at more content, so somebody individually may see less," Pichai acknowledged.

The company reports higher quality referral traffic based on engagement metrics. "The time and people spend as one metric and that are other ways by which we measure quality of our outbound traffic is also increasing," Pichai noted.

Web development capabilities advance rapidly

Pichai highlighted significant improvements in web application development tools that could offset concerns about traditional website relevance. "I was vibe coding with Replit a few weeks ago. You know, create. I mean, the power of the future you're gonna be able to create on the web, we haven't given that power to developers in 25 years," he stated.

These advances could reduce barriers to web application creation, potentially creating new opportunities for web-based businesses. "Maybe with like 2% extra effort, if you could have a robust web presence, why wouldn't you?" Pichai suggested when discussing content creation strategies.

The web maintains particular strength as an application platform. Interviewer Nilay Patel observed: "The web is at an all time high as an application platform, right? The fact that Figma exists and is as successful as it is in its primary interfaces as a web app is I think remarkable."

Enterprise adoption leads consumer deployment

Agent-driven web interactions will likely emerge first in enterprise environments rather than consumer markets, according to Pichai. "I do think it'll happen in enterprises faster than consumer, because in the context of an enterprise, you have a CIO who's able to go, and say, I really don't know why these two things don't talk to each other," he explained.

Enterprise decision-makers can mandate interoperability requirements that individual consumers cannot impose on service providers. "I'm not gonna buy more of this unless you interoperate with this," Pichai noted regarding CIO purchasing decisions.

Consumer adoption faces different dynamics as service providers must determine value propositions for agent-mediated interactions without losing direct customer relationships.

Search behavior continues expanding

Despite concerns about AI reducing traditional search usage, Google reports continued growth in overall query volume. "We are seeing overall query growth in search," Pichai stated, addressing speculation about declining search patterns.

The growth includes queries generated by AI features themselves, as users ask follow-up questions based on initial AI-generated responses. "What's healthy is that the query growth is continuing to grow over time," Pichai noted.

When challenged about reported declines in Safari search usage, Pichai maintained Google's comprehensive data shows continued growth. "Everything we see tells us we are seeing query growth including across Apple's devices and platforms," he stated.

Legacy platform questions emerge

Pichai addressed speculation about whether phones and laptops represent legacy computing platforms, suggesting a more nuanced future involving multiple form factors. "Computing will be available and like, you don't have to make these hard choices. You know, you will, computing will become so essential to you. You're going to have it in multiple ways around you when you need it," he explained.

He noted increased web usage during AI development: "If anything, I found through this AI moment using the web a lot more, right? Because I'm like, it's easier to create a VEO 3 video on my browser in a big screen."

However, Pichai acknowledged eventual interface evolution: "Over time it makes sense to me at some point in the future consuming content by pulling out this black glass display rectangle in front of you and looking at it is not the most interior way to do it."

Marketing implications for content strategies

These developments create significant challenges for digital marketing professionals who rely on web traffic for business success. Traditional SEO strategies may require substantial revision as AI-mediated search reduces direct website visits.

Publishers must consider diversified traffic acquisition strategies beyond Google search dependence. The shift toward agent-driven interactions could create new opportunities for businesses willing to participate in AI-mediated commerce, though terms and revenue sharing models remain undefined.

Content creators may need to optimize for both AI consumption and human readability, potentially requiring new technical approaches to content structure and metadata implementation.

Timeline

March 2025: Google announces significant upgrades to AI Overviews and launches experimental AI Mode for select users

April 2025: Google introduces additional internal links within AI Overviews directing users to other Google pages rather than external websites

May 27, 2025: Google I/O conference announces AI mode rollout to US users alongside revelation of 45% growth in crawlable web pages over two years

May 28, 2025: News Media Alliance escalates criticism, calling Google's AI features "theft" and demanding Department of Justice intervention