Unprompted insights on how AI is transforming the way we work.
This midweek Unprompted edition is inspired by a story from Julia’s weekend. Brace yourselves, it was a crazy one.
From "Google It" to "ChatGPT It"
This weekend, my friend Ali was trying to replace the ink in her home printer (yes, having a friend with a printer is still elite in 2025—and yes, this was our Saturday night plan). We ran into a bit of technical difficulty, so naturally, we turned to our other trusty friend: ChatGPT. One quick photo upload later, it instantly identified the printer model and gave us clear, step-by-step instructions. No forums. No YouTube rabbit holes. No sifting through affiliate blogs disguised as “helpful articles” actually trying to sell us toner.
For those of you wondering, Ali actually IS a professional hand model, and she’s generously offered us this placement free of charge.
I thought to myself—there used to be a (not so distant) world in which I’d say “let’s Google it,” but that thought didn’t even cross my mind. Instead, my head went to “let’s ChatGPT it.” How the mighty (Google) have fallen. This is a shift in my user behavior, and I know I’m not alone.
AI is fundamentally changing how we interact with the internet, how we search for information, how we consume content, and this threatens Google's core business.
AI platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and specialized agents have quietly replaced Google as my first stop for almost everything. From troubleshooting printers to planning trips to drafting product specs to rewriting awkward emails—AI is where I go first.
This shift feels small on a personal level, but for Google, it could be existential. Here’s why:
In 2023, Alphabet made $238B in ad revenue
Of that, $175B came from Google Search
That's over half of Alphabet's total revenue from people typing questions into a box
If people stop doing that... what happens to the business?
The Rise of "Google Zero"
AI platforms are coming for search traffic.
According to new data from Similarweb, AI tools drove 1.13 billion referrals to the world's top 1,000 sites in June 2025—a 357% increase year over year.
That's still small compared to Google's 191 billion search referrals in the same month. But here's the context that matters: we're watching the birth of an entirely new traffic source, growing at hyperspeed.
Media sites in particular are watching this trend closely. Some are prepping for a future called “Google Zero,” where search no longer sends them meaningful traffic—and AI becomes the new gatekeeper to information.
ChatGPT currently leads the pack, driving over 80% of AI-based referrals. But Claude, Perplexity, and specialized agents are gaining fast.
The trend is clear: AI is becoming the front door to the internet.
Why This Matters
Because how we search is how we think. And AI is changing both.
For individuals: Your AI chats aren't just assistants—they're mirrors. We ask them things we'd never say out loud. That intimacy is powerful, and every conversation you have with AI trains the model to be used by millions of people more broadly.
For businesses: The way people discover products, services, and solutions is shifting—fast.
SEO as we knew it? On shaky ground when people bypass search entirely.
Paid search? Vulnerable when the search box disappears.
Your website? Might not be the first impression anymore—an AI summary could be.
This change is drastic. But it's also an opportunity—for product builders embracing these new systems of design and user experience, for businesses experimenting with new channels for acquisition, and for content creators who are adapting to new methods of discoverability.
Here's what "optimizing for AI" actually looks like:
Creating content that AI can easily understand and cite
Building products that integrate directly with AI workflows
Showing up inside AI responses, not just alongside them
Developing AI-native customer experiences
Companies that figure this out first will own the next decade of growth.
Stay curious,
Julia & Russell
