When most people think about the future of the internet, they think about artificial intelligence, social platforms, and a handful of technology giants controlling how information moves online. What they rarely think about is the survival of the open web itself.

by Kasun Illankoon, Editor in Chief at Tech Revolt

[For more news, click here]

The open web, the vast network of independent news sites, blogs, creators, forums, and niche publishers that once defined the internet, is facing a visibility crisis.

As AI-powered search and recommendation systems reshape how people discover information online, publishers are confronting a difficult reality: fewer users are navigating directly to websites, fewer audiences are discovering smaller platforms organically, and more digital attention is flowing into closed ecosystems owned by companies such as Google, Meta, and Amazon.

This is the environment in which Adam Singolda, founder and CEO of Taboola, has positioned himself as one of the strongest advocates for the open web economy.

For more than a decade, Singolda has argued that independent publishers need stronger infrastructure, better monetisation models, and smarter discovery systems if they are going to survive the next evolution of the internet. That argument is becoming increasingly relevant as generative AI accelerates the centralisation of online attention.

The internet’s discovery problem is getting worse

For much of the early internet era, discovery happened through hyperlinks, search engines, blogs, and direct navigation. Smaller publishers could build audiences organically if their content was useful, authoritative, or simply interesting enough to spread.

That ecosystem has changed dramatically.

Social media platforms eventually became the dominant gateways for digital traffic. Publishers adapted by optimising headlines, videos, and content strategies around algorithms they did not control. Then platform priorities shifted. Referral traffic became unpredictable. Advertising revenue concentrated into a few large ecosystems. Now AI interfaces are beginning to change user behaviour again.

Increasingly, users are consuming summaries instead of visiting websites directly.

That trend poses a serious commercial challenge for publishers whose businesses still depend on page views, advertising impressions, subscriptions, and reader engagement.

The concern inside the media industry is not simply about declining traffic. It is about long-term digital visibility. If AI systems become the default interface for information discovery, publishers risk becoming invisible unless they are integrated into those ecosystems in meaningful ways.

This is where companies like Taboola are trying to redefine their role.

Traditionally known for content recommendation widgets appearing beneath online articles, Taboola has evolved into a much broader discovery and advertising platform. The company works with major publishers including CNBC, NBC News, Yahoo, and Business Insider, helping distribute content, advertising, and product recommendations across publisher networks.

The larger strategy, however, is not only about recommendations. It is about keeping users engaged within the broader open web instead of losing them entirely to dominant platforms.

Why the open web still matters

The phrase “open web” has become increasingly common in technology discussions, but its importance extends beyond digital advertising.

An open web allows independent journalism organisations, smaller publishers, specialist websites, and creators to compete for attention without needing to operate inside a single platform ecosystem. It creates diversity in information, perspectives, and business models.

Without that structure, the internet risks becoming smaller despite appearing larger.

A concentrated internet naturally favours companies with massive infrastructure, advertising dominance, and integrated AI systems. Smaller publishers often struggle to compete for audience attention when algorithms prioritise scale, engagement metrics, or platform-native content.

Singolda has consistently argued that preserving the open web is necessary for maintaining a healthier internet economy.

“The open web has this curiosity graph that consumers go to learn things that have some editorial value behind them,” he said during an interview with Beet.TV. “God help us if our children will make decisions based on social media.”

The statement reflects a growing concern within publishing and technology circles. As AI-generated answers and algorithmic feeds become more influential, questions about credibility, editorial oversight, and information quality are becoming more urgent.

Independent publishers still play a critical role in producing original reporting, analysis, and specialised expertise. Yet many lack the scale or technical infrastructure to compete directly with large technology platforms.

That imbalance is precisely what companies like Taboola are attempting to address.

AI is changing the economics of publishing

The publishing industry’s relationship with artificial intelligence is increasingly complicated.

On one hand, AI tools can improve productivity, audience targeting, advertising performance, and content discovery. On the other, they also threaten to centralise user behaviour around AI-powered assistants and search systems that reduce direct publisher engagement.

This creates a paradox for publishers. AI may improve efficiency while simultaneously weakening audience ownership.

Singolda’s approach suggests that publishers should not resist AI, but instead integrate AI experiences directly into their own ecosystems before platform dependency deepens further.

That thinking is already influencing Taboola’s product development strategy. The company has been exploring AI-powered discovery experiences designed to help publishers keep users engaged within their own websites rather than losing them to external AI interfaces.

The broader industry significance is difficult to ignore.

Whoever controls digital discovery increasingly controls monetisation, advertising, and audience relationships. In previous internet eras, search engines and social media platforms held that power. In the AI era, conversational interfaces may become the next dominant gateway.

For publishers, remaining commercially viable may depend on whether they can maintain direct relationships with readers inside those evolving systems.

The next internet battle may not be about platforms

Much of the public discussion surrounding AI has focused on model performance, regulation, or automation. Less attention has been given to what happens to the broader internet economy underneath those technologies.

Yet the battle for online visibility may become one of the defining digital issues of the next decade.

If independent publishers lose discoverability, the consequences extend beyond advertising revenue. Entire categories of specialist journalism, regional reporting, independent analysis, and niche expertise could become harder to sustain commercially.

This is partly why the conversation around the open web has gained momentum again inside the technology and publishing industries.

The issue is no longer simply about competing against social media companies. It is about ensuring the internet remains diverse enough for independent platforms to survive in an AI-driven environment.

Companies like Taboola are betting that there is still value in helping users discover content outside tightly controlled ecosystems. The success of that strategy may ultimately depend on whether audiences continue valuing trusted environments, editorial credibility, and open discovery over convenience-driven algorithmic consumption.

For now, the open web still exists as a meaningful counterweight to platform concentration. The challenge facing publishers is ensuring it remains commercially sustainable in the years ahead.

Related Articles:

Exclusive: Anti-Apps Like Bitchat Signal a Post-Internet Future

The Internet Already Has a Directory for AI Agents, It Was Built in the 1980s

The Internet Is Being Colonized by AI Bots. Two Tech Giants Think They Have the Fix