The Intelligence from The Economist Internet dating: will AI kill the web?
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Jul 16, 2025 
Wendelin von Bredow, Senior Germany correspondent at The Economist, dives into the evolving landscape of the internet influenced by AI. He discusses the shift from traditional web navigation to AI-driven interactions and its impact on content creation. As AI redefines how we access information, he highlights the decline in web traffic for publishers and its implications. He also touches on Austria's political shift with the rise of a new chancellor and intriguing contrasts between politics and tourism in North Korea.
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AI Reshaping Web Traffic
- AI answer engines provide users with summaries, reducing the need to visit original websites.
- This shift is decreasing web traffic and ad revenue for content providers, threatening their survival.
Web Traffic Decline Is Broad
- Web traffic has declined across all major content categories, including science, education, and health.
- This trend threatens a wide range of information sites, not just news publishers.
Web Traffic Drives Publisher Revenue
- Web traffic is the primary currency for monetizing online content through ads or subscriptions.
- AI summarizing content shrinks this traffic, reducing publishers' revenue opportunities.