Google is cannibalizing the web to feed AI

OPINION At Google's I/O 2026 developer conference last week, the company's Search VP Liz Reid celebrated the rapid growth of AI Mode, which Google refers to as its end-to-end AI search experience. External observers refer to it as simply as the end of search. "We're seeing phenomenal growth with AI mode queries more than doubling every quarter since launch," said Reid, noting that AI Mode now has more than one billion monthly users.