Google is planning to designate its 'AI Mode'—a function built on generative AI—as the default search option for users. This feature, which stems from the 'AI Overviews' system, enables users to have seamless, ongoing conversations with the AI, indicating Google's move towards a more closed AI ecosystem.

During the legal proceedings concerning advertising technology, Google's legal representatives contended that the open web is on a decline and that forcing a separation of its advertising operations would only hasten this downward trajectory. Consequently, they resisted mandates to divide advertising exchanges and measures aimed at curbing market dominance. Nevertheless, Google's strategy of citing the diminishing open web as a justification for opposing regulatory measures, while actively promoting AI Mode, has expedited the migration of online traffic to closed platforms. This approach has ignited considerable debate and criticism.