This admission pisses me off more than it should. For months, Google executives have been making the rounds claiming the web is healthier than ever, AI search isn't killing website traffic, and publishers are being dramatic about their concerns. Industry reports and traffic analytics have shown otherwise, but Google kept dismissing publisher concerns at industry conferences and in official statements. Now, when it's legally convenient, they flip the script completely.
The court filing states: "The fact is that today, the open web is already in rapid decline and Plaintiffs' divestiture proposal would only accelerate that decline, harming publishers who currently rely on open-web display advertising revenue."
This is the same company whose representatives have been dismissing publisher concerns as overblown. The same company that's been pushing AI-generated search answers while claiming they're driving more traffic to websites. The same company that's been telling content creators that the web ecosystem is thriving.
The timing is fucking convenient. Google faces a DOJ antitrust case that could force them to break up their advertising business - a business worth tens of billions annually. Suddenly, they're concerned about harming publishers and the health of the open web. Where was this concern when they were rolling out AI Overview summaries that answer questions without requiring users to visit source websites, or when implementing Search Generative Experience that keeps users on Google properties?
What makes this particularly galling is that Google has been a primary driver of the open web's decline while simultaneously denying it's happening. Their search algorithm changes have devastated countless websites through Helpful Content Updates, Product Reviews Updates, and core algorithm changes. Their AI features increasingly keep users on Google.com rather than sending them to publisher sites. Their advertising policies and revenue sharing changes have squeezed publisher revenues.
The court filing admits to "incredibly dynamic" (their words) changes in ad tech, with "non-open web display ad formats like Connected TV and retail media exploding in popularity." This is corporate speak for "we're moving money away from traditional websites toward closed platforms we have more control over."
Google's argument essentially boils down to: "The open web is dying (partially because of our actions), so you shouldn't force us to change our business practices because that might accelerate the death we're already causing." It's like an arsonist arguing they should keep their matches because taking them away might make the fire spread faster.
This admission validates what every SEO professional and publisher has been screaming about since the August 2023 Core Update decimated organic traffic. I've watched sites that survived Panda, Penguin, and every other algorithm massacre finally give up after AI Overview started stealing their featured snippet traffic. Google systematically destroyed the open web's economic foundation while pretending they were helping it flourish.
Web Traffic Distribution Analysis: Traditional open web traffic has declined significantly as users increasingly consume content through AI-powered search results, platform-specific feeds, and closed ecosystem applications.