‘I miss old Google’: readers tell us how they search the internet in the age of AI
Google has placed AI-generated summaries, called AI Overviews, at the top of its search results, pushing traditional links further down the page. The change is reshaping how billions of people find information online, and many users report feeling frustrated with the shift away from the link-based search they grew up with.
Why this matters: Search is how most people navigate the internet. When that changes, everything downstream changes too. AI Overviews do not just add a feature — they move Google from pointing you toward sources to speaking for them. You get an answer, but the trail back to who wrote it, whether it is accurate, and who profits from the summary gets harder to follow. Publishers lose traffic. Users lose the habit of checking primary sources. And Google gets to be the last word on almost everything.
Who should care: AI governance · Lawyers · Administrators · General readers · Policy
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