Source: Search Engine Journal
Google is capturing the majority of search value itself—through AI Overviews, knowledge panels, and direct answers—leaving only a fifth of search traffic for external websites. The open internet is becoming a content farm for Google's own products, not a destination. For publishers, marketers, and e-commerce platforms, SEO is increasingly a tax on visibility rather than a path to customer acquisition. The result is a forced shift toward owned channels and platforms where Google cannot intercept the transaction.