

Season 6, Episode 7: Google's Gambit and the future of the open web
22 snips Aug 26, 2025
The discussion dives into Google's ambitious shift from acting as a distribution tool to becoming an engagement powerhouse with AI. Google's Gambit, featuring AI Overviews and AI Mode, aims to keep users within the search framework, leading to concerns among publishers about plummeting traffic. The content explores the emerging competition from LLM-powered chatbots and the potential risks they pose to the open web. By tracing historical media shifts, the podcast sheds light on how technological advancements continue to influence user engagement and content delivery.
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Episode notes
Radio-To-Television Comparison Framing
- The podcast opens by quoting Stay Tuned to compare radio-to-television disruption with today's web shift.
- The host uses historical media change as a lens to interpret Google's current gambit.
Search Becoming An Engagement Destination
- Google is shifting Search from a click-driven distribution tool to an engagement-first AI destination.
- AI Overviews aims to answer queries inline and prompt iterative follow-ups that keep users inside Google.
Links Turn From Destinations To Inputs
- When Google synthesizes answers, links become inputs rather than destinations, concentrating leverage with licensed sources.
- That feedback loop can favor publishers that sell data while starving everyone else of traffic.