Websites are dying. Not quickly, but they’re dying.
The web has been a collection of pages for 30 years. You click, you scroll, you hunt for what you need. It’s slow and dumb and we’ve all just accepted it.
But something’s shifting. Instead of browsing, we’re starting to talk to our computers. And they’re actually talking back.
Why Websites Are Broken
Here’s what you do when you want car insurance: Open Google. Click through 5-10 insurance sites. Fill out the same form repeatedly. Compare prices manually. Maybe use a comparison site that shows you 3 options instead of 300.
It takes hours to do something that should take minutes.
Now imagine this: “Find me car insurance for a 2019 Honda Civic, clean driving record, $500 deductible.” Your phone talks to 50 insurers, gets quotes, and shows you the best 3 options. Done in 30 seconds.
That’s not the future. That’s this year.
What’s Actually Happening
ChatGPT can already book flights through plugins. Claude can analyze spreadsheets and write code. Your iPhone’s Siri can control smart home devices. These aren’t demos—they’re shipping features.
The pattern is clear: AI agents are learning to use tools. And those tools aren’t websites. They’re APIs, function calls, and structured data.
Your beautiful landing page? The AI doesn’t see it. Your conversion funnel? Irrelevant. Your A/B tested button colors? Meaningless.
What matters is: Can an AI agent understand what you do and use your service programmatically?
The New Protocols
APIs are just the beginning. The real action is in protocols designed for AI-to-service communication:
- MCP (Model Context Protocol) - lets AI systems connect directly to data sources
- Function calling - AI can trigger actions across services
- OpenAPI specs - becoming the lingua franca for AI service discovery
- Structured data - schema.org but for AI agents
Companies building these interfaces now are betting on a post-website world. Smart bet.
What Dies, What Lives
Some industries are about to get hammered. Others are about to boom.
Dying:
- SEO (when people don’t visit search results)
- Web design agencies
- Banner ads (AI doesn’t see them)
- Landing page optimization
- Most of digital marketing
Growing:
- API design and documentation
- Structured data markup
- AI prompt engineering
- Function calling interfaces
- Data partnerships
The New Gatekeepers
Google controlled website traffic. Now OpenAI, Anthropic, and Apple control AI assistant traffic.
These companies decide which services their AI can access. Get on their approved list, or get ignored. It’s that simple.
The shift from Google’s algorithm to AI gatekeepers is already happening. Most people just haven’t noticed yet.
Building for the Future
Three questions to ask yourself:
- If Google search disappeared tomorrow, how would people find your service?
- Can an AI agent understand what you do from your API documentation?
- Can it actually use your service without human intervention?
If you can’t answer these, you’re building for 2010, not 2024.
What’s Next
Most people still browse the web like it’s 2005. They’ll keep doing that for a while. But some companies are already building for AI-first interactions.
The companies that adapt early will have more options. The ones that don’t will find themselves irrelevant, like Yellow Pages or Blockbuster.