Last week, I asked a simple question in my Beyond the Prompt newsletter: Is this the end of "Googling it?"
I argued that we're moving away from an internet where we discover information ourselves toward one where AI simply hands us an answer. My biggest concern is the long-term visibility of the web. If fewer people click through to the original reporting, reviews and research that AI depends on, who, or rather, what is creating the knowledge.
My inbox blew up!
I expected the responses to split neatly into two camps: people who love AI search and people who hate it. Instead, your emails revealed something much more interesting.
Almost nobody turned this into an AI-versus-Google debate. Instead, many of you argued that the problems with search started long before ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity arrived. That gave me pause. Maybe AI isn't replacing search because it's inherently better, but rather it's succeeding because traditional search had already become frustrating enough that people were ready for something different.
For many of you, Google is the real problem
One of the strongest themes running through your emails had very little to do with AI and everything to do with search.
"AI is not killing 'Googling it.' Google's endless push for profit is killing 'Googling it.'," write Bobbie L. "For some time now, search engines have been throwing up pages and pages of barely relevant links... It's like wading through an obstacle course of sales pitches for second-hand cars when all I wanted was research on safety."
AI is not killing 'Googling it.' Google's endless push for profit is killing 'Googling it.'
— Bobbie L.
Steve H. echoed that frustration in his email. "I do enjoy doing research on Google, but the amount of pop-up ads is now overwhelming. I understand ads pay the bills, but it has become the majority of screen time!"
That perspective resonated with me because it reframes the conversation. When the web becomes a minefield of SEO fluff, pop-ups and sponsored links, an AI-generated answer feels necessary.
AI shines when the question gets complicated
Several readers made another point I hadn't fully considered. Robert D. explained that AI lets him ask detailed, conversational questions instead of trying to guess the perfect combination of keywords.
"With an AI search, you can phrase the question with much more detail and you'll get an answer based on that... It's easy to expand on part of the response and get additional information. However, if you want a variety of opinions, then a search is usually the way to go."
Richard S. shared a similar view, saying he usually prefers "a summary and synthesis" because he's looking for information rather than preserving the original source.
Reading Robert's email made me realize AI isn't just faster than traditional search, but it does understand questions differently. Instead of trying to reverse engineer Google's algorithm, you can simply explain what you're trying to figure out. That means the first step feels like a conversation instead of a puzzle to get the right keywords.
But many of you don't want AI making your choices
Just as many readers pushed back.
"I prefer searching and making my own choices," Valerie G. wrote. "I use AI, but I don't want AI making my choices — or interrupting my plans while I'm searching the Web."
I use AI, but I don't want AI making my choices.
— Valerie G.
Rosita, who spent years working in medical administration, shared a similar philosophy. "I have never looked at a first study or the first option to address a decision. I totally agree and practice the scroll to more accurate studies and legitimate data."
Then there was Ellen S., whose email has stuck with me all week.
"I hate the increasingly prominent use of AI in searches," she wrote. "It is bland, makes assumptions about sources of information, and obliterates the process of creative and systematic thinking."
Reading Ellen and Rosita's emails reminded me that searching is just as much about comparing evidence, deciding which sources you trust and sometimes discovering information you weren't expecting to find.
That's something an AI summary, by design, can never fully replicate.
Was search ever fair to small creators and businesses?
Perhaps the email that challenged my thinking the most came from Steve W., who runs the website Miswired.me. He wrote: "How many typical website owners... actually ever hope to end up listed on the SERPs? Isn't that the logical fallacy part of this argument against AI?"
His point stopped me in my tracks.
My original argument assumed AI was taking traffic away from independent creators. But Steve pointed out that many independent creators never received much traffic from Google in the first place. If page one of Google was already dominated by giant publishers and SEO powerhouses, perhaps AI isn't disrupting a level playing field. Perhaps it's disrupting one that was already uneven.
I don't know the answer, but it's a perspective I hadn't seriously considered before reading his email.
What I took away from dozens of responses
After reading all of your responses (and yes, I read them all!), I think this comes down to trust. Some of you trust AI to synthesize information quickly and others prefer to trust yourself to evaluate multiple sources.
Most of you seem to fall somewhere in the middle, using AI for convenience while recognizing there are still times when nothing replaces reading the original reporting, comparing perspectives and making up your own mind.
What surprised me most was that almost everyone recognized the same underlying problem: finding trustworthy information online has become harder.
AI may not be the perfect solution, but for many people it's the first alternative that's made searching feel useful again.
A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to write in. I genuinely appreciate you taking the time to challenge my thinking. Now I'd love to hear from even more of you.
Has AI changed the way you search the web over the past year? If so, has it made you more curious — or less likely to dig deeper than the first answer you receive?
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