Nov 18, 2025
Sir Tim Berners-Lee – the inventor of the World Wide Web – doesn’t think AI will destroy the web. But he is worried about something performance marketers should care a lot about:
If AI answers everything and people stop clicking through to websites, the ad-funded model of the web can crumble.
That’s the quiet, uncomfortable PPC story hiding in his recent interview on Decoder.
Below is a simple breakdown of what he’s saying and what it could mean for paid search and paid social.
The web is shifting from open pages to closed platforms and AI agents
Berners-Lee’s original vision was an open web where anyone could publish a site and be a “peer” with everyone else. Over time, that’s shifted:
Power has centralized: one dominant search engine, one main browser engine, a few huge social networks and marketplaces.
Content and audiences are moving into walled gardens like apps, TikTok, and closed platforms.
Next step: AI agents – instead of you visiting sites, your AI assistant (or AI browser) goes out, reads the web, and brings back an answer or even completes the task for you.
From a user point of view, that’s convenient. From a revenue point of view, fewer human visits means less ad inventory and less ad revenue for publishers.
Why that matters for PPC
If fewer people click through to web pages because AI answers their questions directly, several things can happen:
Less classic inventory in search and display
Fewer organic clicks.
Fewer pageviews on ad-funded websites.
Over time, some publishers will scale back or change models.
Higher competition where humans still click
The remaining high-intent surfaces (search ads, Shopping, YouTube, etc.) become more crowded.
CPCs can rise as more brands fight for fewer premium placements.
More “pay-to-play” inside AI and walled gardens
AI assistants and AI SERP features are likely to get their own sponsored spots and preferred partners.
TikTok, Meta, Amazon and others will keep tightening organic reach and monetizing their AI layers.
The practical takeaway: PPC won’t disappear – but it will be squeezed and redistributed. Less open-web spray-and-pray, more bidding for attention inside closed and AI-mediated environments.
From ad networks to “shortlists”: how AI can restructure performance
Berners-Lee talks about a future where your personal AI agent:
Knows your preferences and history (stored in a secure “data wallet”),
Goes out on the web,
And chooses which services or products to use on your behalf.
For PPC, that suggests a shift:
From: “Show an ad to any relevant user and hope they click.”
To: “Be inside the shortlist your customer’s AI is willing to show or choose.
That could look like:
Sponsored or preferred options inside AI assistants.
Direct integrations and partnerships (e.g., “official booking partner”, “verified vendor” for a task).
More emphasis on trust, reliability, and structured data so AI systems recognize you as a safe recommendation.
In other words, you’re not just bidding on keywords – you’re trying to qualify as a trusted answer.
What smart PPC teams can start doing now
You don’t need to burn your Google Ads account and start over. But you do want to gradually align your paid strategy with where the web is heading.
Here are practical moves:
1. Protect your core PPC performance
Keep optimizing search, Shopping, and performance campaigns.
Watch how impression share and CPCs evolve on high-intent terms.
Track any “AI” or “answer” surfaces where your ads can show.
2. Build real first-party data
Berners-Lee’s big push is user-owned data and data wallets. Whether or not his specific solution wins, the direction is clear:
3rd-party tracking is dying; 1st-party data is king.
Grow email lists, loyalty programs, and logged-in user bases.
Improve lead capture and nurturing instead of relying only on cold traffic.
Use Customer Match / similar tools wherever allowed.
3. Make your content AI-friendly
AI systems need to understand you before they can recommend you.
Structure landing pages clearly with headings, FAQs, and simple language.
Use schema markup (product, article, FAQ) where relevant.
Answer real questions your audience asks, not just cram in keywords.
This helps both SEO and any AI system that’s reading and summarizing your content.
4. Diversify beyond the open web
If more behavior shifts into apps and AI-driven experiences:
Test formats in walled gardens (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Amazon Ads, etc.).
Look for early AI ad products (sponsored answers, AI shopping units, etc.).
Treat “AI surfaces” in Google and other platforms as real channels, not just side experiments.
The bottom line
Tim Berners-Lee doesn’t think AI will destroy the web.
But he does think:
The web’s ad-funded model is fragile if people stop clicking and just consume AI answers.
Users should gain more control over their data, and AI should work for them – which will change how targeting works.
Standards, interoperability, and possibly regulation will reshape how data and content are accessed.
For PPC marketers, the message is simple:
Keep doing what works now.
Start preparing for a world where:
There’s less cheap open-web inventory,
AI assistants and walled gardens control more attention, and
Your best “ad network” might be your own first-party data plus a spot on your customer’s AI-driven shortlist.
If you plan for that now, you’re not just defending your campaigns – you’re getting ahead of how paid media will work in the next version of the web.
https://www.theverge.com/podcast/814552/tim-berners-lee-world-wide-web-ai-future-interview
