Preparing for a Zero-Click Internet

In a recent Wall Street Journal article called, “The Companies Betting They Can Profit From Google Search’s Demise,” writer Katherine Blunt highlights a wave of startups preparing for what they see as an inevitable shift toward a zero-click internet—an online environment where users rely on AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google’s Gemini to find information without ever clicking on traditional web links.

It’s an interesting read, and a more interesting question to ponder, because if a zero-click internet is indeed a possibility, then this new paradigm poses intriguing questions for business leaders and marketers.

Namely, if your audience no longer directly interacts with your website, how does your strategy need to evolve?

On the surface, the zero-click internet seems pretty disruptive to traditional ways of building brands, attracting customers, and generating revenue. (I wrote about the sea change in SEO back in 2023.)

But my theory here is that even with this previously unthinkable shift—an internet primary surfed by AI agents rather than humans—the fundamental rules of content marketing and brand strategy still apply.

What I mean is that ultimately, regardless of whether it’s a person or an AI agent interacting with your digital presence, your audience is still decidedly human.

Real people, with real problems, still sit at the other end of every query, every interaction, and every transaction on the internet.

So while the way people discover your content and your brand might evolve, the fundamental strategic truth remains unchanged: producing original, genuinely useful content and building brands that solve real problems for customers continues to be your most powerful competitive advantage.

The zero-click shift doesn’t require you to abandon your foundational principles.

In fact, I would argue the opposite: it demands you double down on them.

Here are three things you should be doing specifically:

Obsess Over Human Needs

Your audience is always human, even if it’s an AI agent doing something for a human.

Creating valuable content still means answering genuine questions, solving real problems, and offering insights that your audience needs, not merely what you think an algorithm might reward.

Even AI-driven interactions eventually serve human curiosity, human problems, and human ambitions.

Double Down on the Quality of Your Content

The emergence of AI as intermediary places an even higher premium on authoritative, rich, genuinely useful content.

Your content should become even more robust, more insightful, and more thoughtful than ever before.

No one knows how LLMs work, and no one knows how they recommend what they recommend, so content created solely to try and please its algorithm won’t survive.

Double down on quality and see what happens.

Invest in Original Research and Thought Leadership

To thrive in a zero-click world, you need content that AI agents must reference because it’s uniquely yours.

Produce original research, data-backed insights, and authentic thought leadership that cannot easily be replicated.

This positions you and your brand as a trusted, authoritative source, compelling both human audiences and AI agents to turn to you for answers.

Don’t panic

I don’t see the potential of a zero-click internet as a reason to panic or abandon your existing strategies.

Instead, I think it’s a perfect time to reaffirm and elevate the principles of thoughtful, meaningful, and genuinely valuable content.

By continuing to focusing on human needs, regardless of what happens with the internet, you’ll be well-positioned to thrive regardless of how the future unfolds.