When AI agents – ​computer programs that use AI to do tasks and reach goals by themselves for a person or another system – become the default way people navigate the internet, the value chain will be rerouted, says Paul Armstrong

very business that depends on digital reach is about to face a visibility crisis. Customers are no longer discovering brands through search the way they used to. Interfaces are being rewritten, and in the space of a few short product cycles, the browser, the search engine, and even the input itself are all mutating. The shift won’t just be cosmetic or technical, it will be existential. When AI agents – ​computer programs that use AI to do tasks and reach goals by themselves for a person or another system – become the default way people navigate the internet, businesses will no longer be talking to customers directly. These agents will be talking to machines trained to act on the customer’s behalf. The value chain of persuasion, interaction and conversion is about to be rerouted.

Browsers are not static windows to the web anymore, they are becoming agents with autonomy. OpenAI is building a browser designed to execute tasks like booking appointments or buying products without ever surfacing the website behind the transaction. Perplexity’s Comet and The Browser Company’s Dia already automate multi-step actions, from reading and summarising to filling forms and answering emails. Some of these features are clunky, and most are unfinished, but the intent is obvious. Speed of page load is irrelevant, and speed of completion becomes everything.

Google is, of course, sweating. Not just because of antitrust lawsuits, but also because Google’s dominance via Chrome and Search is being eroded at the edges. Gemini integration into its search engine reflects a defensive pivot. OpenAI’s push to build a productivity suite to rival Google Workspace suggests it is not only looking to replace how people browse, but also how they work. If (when?) that happens, the very act of looking for information or creating a document will happen inside a conversational interface that removes the need for........

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