The Attention Economy and AI Role in Changing How We Browse

For two decades the web ran on attention: sites competed for clicks, and every click could be sold as ad views. AI is reshaping that bargain, both for the people browsing and for the sites trying to reach them.

How browsing is changing

• Answers instead of links. AI Overviews and chat assistants answer many questions directly, so you visit fewer sites. Research from the Pew Research Center in 2025 found people clicked result links about half as often when an AI summary appeared.
• Summaries instead of reading. Extensions and built-in tools summarize long articles, videos, and emails.
• Agents instead of browsing. AI agents that browse on your behalf can compare prices or fill in forms without you visiting each page.

Who wins and who loses attention

Platforms that own the answer box gain attention. Sites that relied on search clicks for simple information lose it. Content that can't be summarized well, like tools, communities, original reporting, and personal experience, holds its value better. The economics of AI search for publishers goes into the numbers.

What it means for you as a reader

• Faster answers, less context. A summary is convenient but can miss nuance or get things wrong. AI Overviews do get answers wrong, so check sources for anything important.
• Fewer independent sites. If you want to keep finding them, click through to sources you trust.
• Your attention is still the product. AI features are also designed to keep you inside one company's products.

Take back some control

1. Decide when you want an AI answer and when you want sources.
2. If AI summaries get in the way, Search Cleaner removes AI Overviews and AI Mode prompts from Google.
3. Subscribe directly to writers and sites you value, so you're not relying on search to find them.