Google has admitted something it hasn’t been saying in public: the open web is in “rapid decline.” The line came not in a blog post or press conference, but buried inside a legal filing defending its ad technology business, as reported by The Verge.
In that filing, Google argued that breaking up its advertising arm—as the Justice Department has proposed in its antitrust case—wouldn’t save publishers. Instead, it claimed such a move could make things worse by accelerating a shift of ad dollars away from websites and toward connected TV and retail media platforms.
That framing clashes with what Google executives have been saying out loud. Sundar Pichai recently told reporters that the web is still healthy and growing. Nick Fox, who leads Google Search, went further in interviews, insisting their data shows search is sending clicks to more publishers than ever. Search Engine Land highlighted this gap between Google’s court language and its public optimism.
Publishers, meanwhile, are worried for good reason. AI-powered search is keeping users on Google longer, offering summaries that cut into traffic for news sites. The Guardian called it an “existential crisis” for journalism, warning of an “AI zero-click world” where articles go unread because answers are served directly.
Industry voices have been raising alarms, too. At the start of the year, Axios reported comments from The Trade Desk’s CEO suggesting Google may eventually abandon the open web altogether and lean even more heavily on YouTube. If that prediction proves right, competition in digital media could narrow even further.
The contrast is hard to ignore. In court, Google emphasizes the fragility of the open web to shield itself from a forced breakup. In public, it paints a picture of vibrancy to reassure publishers and regulators. Both versions can’t be true at the same time.
The larger question remains whether the open web can survive as AI reshapes how people find and consume information. For publishers and readers alike, the answer could decide what the internet looks like in the years ahead.
