Why it matters: Generative AI is fundamentally transforming how we find information online, potentially upending the advertising-based internet economy while creating new ways to access knowledge.
The big picture
MIT Technology Review announces today a roundtable discussion on “Generative AI Search and the Changing Internet,” featuring Editor-in-Chief Mat Honan and Executive Editor Niall Firth.
- The discussion examines generative AI search, previously identified as one of MIT’s 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2025
- This marks a critical exploration of how AI is ending “internet search as we’ve known it”
- The conversation comes amid growing tensions between AI companies and content creators
Key developments
The roundtable addresses several transformative shifts:
- The move from link-based results to AI-generated direct answers
- Google’s AI Overviews powered by Gemini
- The rise of natural language, conversational search interfaces
- Ongoing copyright battles between publishers and AI developers
- The AI crawler wars making the web increasingly closed
Why now
This discussion arrives as:
- AI search threatens the traditional digital advertising economy
- Users increasingly expect conversational interactions with search tools
- Publishers and creators worry about fair compensation
- Legal challenges mount against training AI on copyrighted content
What’s next
The roundtable sets the stage for understanding how generative AI search will continue reshaping the internet ecosystem throughout 2025 and beyond.
Go deeper: AI means the end of internet search as we’ve known it