Google just lost a software engineer to a startup betting on its demise.
According to the WSJ, Andrew Yan left Google's search team to launch Athena, one of a dozen new companies helping brands prepare for a world where nobody visits websites anymore. (Article link below.)
Are you ready for a post-website world? We're seeing the real-time extinction of a 30-year-old behavior pattern.
Think about it. Today, how often do you type a URL? How often do you browse through multiple blue search links to find an answer? Our brains have already started rewiring around AI's instant gratification model.
These startups are betting on a fundamental shift in human information-seeking behavior. Companies like Profound (backed by Kleiner Perkins) and Athena (Y Combinator) are raising millions to help brands adapt to what they call the "zero-click internet."
A few data points:
- Clerk saw a 9% increase in sign-ups from AI searches in just 6 months
- SEO consultant Cyrus Shepard expects AI optimization to account for 50% of his work by year's end
- The traditional SEO industry is worth $90 billion - all potentially obsolete (but, SEOs are shifting to AIO, GEO, AEO...)
There's one speed bump on the highway to the zero-click internet. Our brains love the efficiency of low-friction AI answers, but we also need trust signals that come from seeing original sources. It's the same psychology that makes us trust a restaurant more when we can see into the kitchen. (Remember glue pizza? Complete trust in AI isn't here yet.)
The winners in this transition won't abandon websites entirely. They'll understand the dual nature of human information processing - we want both instant answers AND the ability to verify them.
As one startup founder put it: "Your website doesn't need to go away. But 90% of its human traffic will."
This transition will disrupt advertising, too. Search ads will have limited reach. AI companies will have to devise an effective ad delivery approach both for monetization and user satisfaction - highly relevant search ads are the one kind of ad that users don't hate.
What's your take? Are you optimizing for AI discovery? How far away is "zero click?"
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