How Agentic AI Could Drastically Change the Monetary Model of the Web
The web’s economy has long depended on humans performing searches, clicking through results, landing on pages and viewing ads. Now imagine a world where AI-agents do the searching and transaction on behalf of humans – and humans rarely click. If that becomes the norm, the whole monetisation model built around clicks, impressions and page-views comes under threat.
Google’s primary search and advertising model may be coming under threat – and that would be a huge model change for the entire web.
The current landscape: growth but structural pressure
Recent figures for the core business of Alphabet Inc. (parent of Google) and what they reveal:
- In Q1 2025 Alphabet reported total revenue of ~US $90.2 billion, up ~12% year-on-year. [1]
- Ad revenue for Google in Q1 2025 was about US $66.9 billion, up ~8% year-on-year. [2]
- A major trend: “zero-click” searches are now accounting for nearly 60% of searches (US ~58.5%, EU ~59.7%) – meaning no click to a third-party site. [3]
- Google’s “Network” ad revenues (ads on publishers/partners) declined ~2% in Q1 2025 (~US $7.3 billion) signalling outer-ring ad models may be under strain. [4]
These numbers show that while Google’s advertising model remains large and growing, the rate of growth is moderate and key indicators (clicks, partner traffic) are showing signs of stress.
Why an agentic-AI shift threatens the old web model
The hypothesis is: when AI-agents become the default interface, the “search → click → landing page” pipeline breaks. Here’s why that matters:
- Search engines monetize via paid clicks, keyword auctions and impressions. If an AI assistant answers the user directly, the opportunity for click or landing page ad may disappear.
- The zero-click phenomenon – users getting answers without clicking through – reduces traffic to publishers and sites, shrinking ad-inventory and reducing value per click. [3]
- Agentic-AI can go beyond answering: it can book, buy, schedule, execute tasks on behalf of a user. If a human never visits an advertiser’s landing page, the ad ecosystem built on visits and clicks collapses.
- Your personal observation (no Google adverts for 90 days while using AI assistants) aligns with this macro-trend: if many users shift behaviour, monetisation logic changes.
A paradigm-shift in motion: what it looks like
Imagine this scenario:
- A human asks an AI agent: “Find me a vegan restaurant in London tonight.”
- The agent sorts options, books you a table and confirms – you never clicked on an ad or visited a list of websites.
- The search engine shown fewer ad slots because there was no click; the advertiser’s website never gained a visitor.
- Publishers’ traffic drops; advertisers struggle to measure ROI via clicks; platforms adopt new monetisation models (subscription, task-completion, sponsored-agent).
- The value metric shifts from “click/impression” → “action/completion”. Ad-models and measurement must be rethought.
- A dominant search-ad network (Google) must adapt or risk losing its foundational monetisation model.
Why Google still stands – but the risk is real
Why still strong:
- Google’s scale is enormous – billions of queries daily, global reach.
- Ad-revenue is still positive growth, so the model is not broken yet.
- Google is itself investing in AI search and has the resources to pivot.
Why the risk builds:
- Growth in ad revenue is decelerating – single-digit increases in core categories. [2]
- User behaviour may shift faster than new monetisation models can scale.
- When the dominant monetisation unit (clicks) is under threat, risk to the business model is structural, not just cyclical.
What to watch: key signals of change
To assess how far along the shift is, monitor the following:
- Click-through rates (CTR) on search results – are they falling?
- Paid search impressions/auction volumes – are they shrinking?
- Share of queries handled by AI/agentic-interfaces versus traditional search engines.
- Referral traffic from search engines to publishers – particularly decline in legacy site visits.
- Advertiser budget shifts – less spend into keyword/search and more into agentic/assistant-driven formats.
- New monetisation formats appearing – sponsored-agent responses, task-completion fees, subscription-based agent access.
The thesis is clear: if search engines and websites no longer rely primarily on human visitors, but on AI Agents acting on behalf of humans, then the entire monetisation paradigm built on human clicks and page visits is at risk. Google’s advertising model hasn’t collapsed today – but the early signals of structural change are visible. The leap from a click-economy to an agent-economy is underway.
- [1] “Consolidated Alphabet revenues in Q1 2025 increased … to $90.2 billion.” ~ SEC filing. URL: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1652044/000165204425000040/googexhibit991q12025.htm
- [2] “Google ad revenue Q1 2025 ~ US$66.9 billion, up ~8%.” ~ SERoundtable. URL: https://www.seroundtable.com/google-earnings-ad-revenue-39304.html
- [3] “Nearly 60% of Google searches end without a click in 2024.” ~ Search Engine Land. URL: https://searchengineland.com/google-search-zero-click-study-2024-443869
- [4] “Google Network ad revenues declined ~2% in Q1 2025 (~US$7.3 billion).” ~ PPC.Land. URL: https://ppc.land/google-q1-2025-earnings-reveal-advertising-strength-amid-ai-transformation/
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