The changing internet

From links to answers: how the internet is changing, and what it means for marketplaces

Mira team25 September 20263 min read

The internet is moving from links to answers. Search engines and AI assistants increasingly reply to a question directly instead of listing pages to visit. Users click less, but the clicks that remain carry more intent. For marketplaces, the question shifts from "how do we rank" to "how do we stay part of the answer".

What is actually changing?

For most of the web's history, a search returned ten links and the user did the rest. That model is giving way. Google's AI Mode, a conversational search experience, passed one billion monthly users in 2026. Graphite estimated in March 2026 that monthly AI sessions worldwide were already 56% the size of search.

A list of links asks the user to do the work of comparing. An answer does that work for them. As answers become the default, websites stop competing for a position on a page and start competing to be the source behind the answer.

Do people still click?

Less often. A Pew Research Center analysis of real browsing data found that users who saw an AI summary on Google clicked a traditional result in 8% of visits, compared with 15% when no summary appeared. Links inside the summary itself were clicked in about 1% of visits.

For publishers, this is a loss of traffic. For marketplaces the picture is different, because nobody can buy a car or rent a flat inside a summary. The transaction still happens on the marketplace. What changes is how the user arrives, and what they expect when they do.

Why are the remaining clicks worth more?

A user who clicks after a conversation has already explained their need, compared options and narrowed down. Retail data shows the effect. Adobe Analytics reported that in July 2026 visits from AI sources to U.S. retail sites converted 60% better than other traffic, and that these visitors spent more time on site and bounced less.

Fewer clicks, higher intent. The users who reach a marketplace from an AI answer arrive ready to act. The risk is losing them in the last step, when a site that only understands filters asks them to start the search again.

What does this mean for a marketplace?

Expect users who write in sentences, because that is how they just spoke to an assistant.
Make your listings reachable from inside AI assistants, not only from search result pages.
Keep the conversation going on your own site, so the intent built in the conversation is not lost on arrival.
Measure leads, not only sessions. Traffic may fall while the value per visit rises.

Is this the end of the website?

No. The website becomes the place where the decision is completed rather than where the search begins. Marketplaces keep what assistants cannot replace: live inventory, trusted sellers and the transaction itself. The work is to connect that value to the new way people arrive.

Where Mira fits

Mira covers both ends of this shift. Mira on your site (widget) understands what users describe and shows the right listings. In AI assistants, your MCP, published under your name, answers with your live listings and sends the lead back to you. See how Mira works for marketplaces.

Frequently asked questions

Will marketplaces lose traffic to AI answers?

Some informational traffic may move to answers. Transactional intent still ends on the marketplace, and the visits that arrive tend to convert better.

Is SEO still worth doing?

Yes, but the goal widens: being the source an assistant can reach and trust, through structured listings and a live connection.

What should we measure?

Leads and contacts per visit, split by traffic source, alongside total sessions.

Curious how your users' questions perform on your search?

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