> AI is changing the web, so websites need to change.
The Web is changing fast with AI, in several key ways:
- Google: users want more than keyword returning links,
- Slop: users are flooded with AI-generated content unworthy of their time,
- Bots: websites are putting up barriers against content aggregator bots.
If done right, this new state of the web brings on some very favorable changes for users. It’s a great opportunity to make the web more interesting and accessible to all users, without the intermediation of algorithmic platforms and the proliferation of distracting ads.
Google has exemplified how platforms can be clogged up by enshittification: the proliferation of ads and slop (AI-generated content) that cloud up what the user is looking for. Instead, manually curated websites that develop their own editorial practices, often run by small independent teams with high levels of expertise and dedication, have an opportunity to reclaim a role they’ve lost – that of delivering high value content and services to a loyal base of customers. That is, if they are able to provide the right user experience.
Old school websites with content hidden behind hundreds of links and piles of menus will continue to shoo away users. That huge mashup of content was the bread and butter of Google – and is precisely what users are turning away from.
Death by blue links: the hundreds of irrelevant results, or worse, results biased towards making Google more money. I’ve heard the argument before: what’s good for Google is good for the user. Relevant ads, the ones brands pay the most for (and supposedly are the less scammy) and that users click on the most (and supposedly generate the highest interest), have the greatest value both for the user and Google in a magical alignment of interests.
Yeah, right. If there’s any remaining doubt that the algorithm feeds you what’s good for the platform, not for you, then let’s dispel it here and now. The central algorithm of the web platforms exists to make money through attention grabbing schemes that are harmful to you in ways that have been documented over and over again.
Not only is the algorithm powered by AI is getting more powerful every day, it is also being distorted by its human editorialists. Platforms like X and Meta have been turned into political megaphones for extremist ideas, spreading ideology under the pretense of free speech.
In the age of misinformation, users need to go back to the sources of their choice – not what the algorithm feeds them.
Let me illustrate this with a few examples:
- Don’t go to X to get information about public health, instead visit your county’s health and human services website (if you live in somewhere that believes in science)
- Don’t plan your next museum visit on Google, instead visit the museum’s website directly.
Users flocking back to websites is a boon for them if they know how to handle it. More eyeballs, of course, means higher advertising revenue, if users don’t just bounce away. Let’s focus on the user experience that users will expect.
Websites contain a trove of valuable information that users want to access directly from the website. This supposes:
- Efficient Content Navigation: users find the information they need quickly without browsing through multiple pages or menus — not to mention reading through lists of half-baked search results.
- Dynamic Content Interaction: personalized, interactive conversations with users about what exactly they’re looking for, making sure they’re understood and helping them find what they want.
- Multi-Language Support: high quality websites should be accessible by anyone in the world regardless of their native tongue, and answer queries in any language, and in any form of language sophistication.
- Simplifying Information: decluttering information and providing targeted responses to reduce the cognitive load on users, making web content more digestible.
- Accessibility standards: website content and website search must be interpreted by screen readers for an audio version of the content.
That’s what we’re striving to achieve with Rozz. The integration of Rozz into a website transforms the user experience. It presents web content in a way that is tailored to individual preferences and requirements. Its ability to deliver concise, accurate information from a vast database of pages highlights its role not just as a feature but as an essential component of modern accessible web design.