Towards the end of the open web? Google recognizes an accelerated decline in an official note

While Google wants to be reassuring on digital health, and that a recent study has shown that Many of Chatgpt users do researcha legal document in the United States is sowing doubt.

Indeed, the company clearly admits that the web would already be in “rapid decline”, and a note filed on September 5 before a federal court in Virginia tells a completely different story …

On more than 20 pages, the company maintains that The open web would be quickly decliningan admission that questions its communication strategy and its interests in the US justice …

Two speeches that oppose

Last spring, Google multiplied public declarations aimed at reassuring publishers, so that Nick Foxvice-president of research, even described the web as “flourishing” in the podcast Ai Inside, insisting that the search engine continued to massively generate traffic to websites.

But before justice, the tone seems to change radically … In this document, Google stresses that artificial intelligence is in the process of Transform advertising at all levelsand that new formats such as connected television or “retail media” should more attract investors to the detriment of the classic web.

According to Google, new sanctions as the European Union provides, forcing a dismantling of its advertising activities, as recommended by the DOJ (Department of Justice), would only “do”accelerate this decline“, And would weaken even more the publishers already dependent on advertising revenues.

A structural change in the advertising market?

If Google’s approach can question, behind this strategy, it is actually all the evolution of the advertising market who could be at stake.

According to Google’s observations, advertisers are increasingly favoring closed and measurable environments, such as streaming platforms Like Amazon Prime Video which recently doubled its volume of advertisements, or advertising spaces directly integrated into e-commerce sites.

And if this remains good news for certain advertising players, this gradual displacement of budgets contributes to weakening the web economylong supported by advertising.

The publishers, on the other hand, already observe a notable drop in their organic traffic, as evidenced by the New York Times with a recent fall of -36%.

The recent developments in Google algorithms, combined with new features like AI mode, reduce the visibility of major media as independent websites. In this context, the admission of Google, even partial, confirms trends already felt by the entire sector …