21.07.2026, Moscow.
Web browsers and websites may disappear due to the development of AI agents, but this does not mean that digital assistants will satisfy users’ needs for information search; on the contrary, the availability of information may decrease, Rossa Primavera News Agency‘s IT Desk notes on July 21.
On July 19, American entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk agreed with a forecast by X (formerly Twitter) user Rational Aussie and German software engineer Mark Kretschmann. They suggested that traditional web browsers, websites, and some programs would soon disappear due to their widespread replacement by AI agents. The assumption is based on the assertion that digital assistants will satisfy users’ needs for information search.
The era of the Internet’s “World Wide Web” began with websites, which users visited at addresses known to them. Later, portals emerged that presented special sites with thematic catalogs that helped users find the necessary information.
Universal search services appeared, which analyzed existing websites, stored the analysis results in their databases, and, based on a set of words specified by the user, selected the “most satisfying” web pages for the query. “Most satisfying” is in quotes, because in reality it is about the greatest compliance with the search algorithm built into the service by its authors.
Search services evolved, search and ranking algorithms became more complex, and the information provided began to be ranked not only based on assumptions about the user’s needs, but also based on the interests of the search service creators or other parties. For example, sites paid for advertising purposes receive a more advantageous place in search results, although this does not at all mean that the most suitable information for the user is found on these sites.
Nevertheless, the sophistication of search engine algorithms does not prevent visiting a site via a direct link if a person knows in advance that the required information is located there.
If people are trained to search for information exclusively by turning to “artificial intelligence,” this could be used as a pretext for technologically phasing out websites as “unnecessary.” Obviously, databases with primary information will have to remain somewhere, as they are necessary for training AI. But if they remain accessible only to the owners of AI agents, then it is these owners who will determine what information, in what volume, and in what interpretation will be provided to users in response to their search queries.
Whether AI owners will make decisions based solely on the interests of AI agent users is a rhetorical question.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
