World Browser War III and the Rise of Agentic AI Slop
I prompted Artlist.io to generate a browser battle. The flying DuckDuckGo-lings are impressive.
I ditched Google Chrome last month. Yeah, Google is a monopoly, and yeah, they’re unethical for ‘shady business practices’. Conversely, they’re the target of losers who want to dethrone them.
Yet, swap any competitor with Google, and the story would be the same. The behavior is the epitome of John Galbraith’s American Capitalism.
As I dove into the proliferating headlines about Google’s AI search engine evolution, Internet spies began inundating my YouTube feed with damning Chrome videos. I was warned to switch browsers before I started putting glue on my pizza.
My anxiety spiked. I felt queasy and pwned. I realized that World Browser War III is underway. The competition is fierce: comprehensive list of the expanding browser marketplace.
If you’re a privacy junkie like me, check out this list of the 11 most secure browsers.
On my iPhone, I switched to its native Safari browser and selected the DuckDuckGo search engine. On my desktop, I diversified:
Primarily, I use the privacy-focused Firefox browser powered by DuckDuckGo.
Daily, I open the Ecosia browser and search engine to save the world. Its mission is to plant trees, and I feel good about that.
Because I practice Zen meditation, I felt compelled to try the browser with its namesake. At first, I panicked because they moved the northern-anchored toolbar westward, but now I’m understanding and calm.
GOOGLE and AGENTIC AI and AI SLOP
Falling through the rabbit hole, I learned that Google changed its search engine to an AI-only version. The phrase “Agentic AI” is everywhere. It’s the new buzzword, and it’s gonna help enterprises and individuals blah blah blah blah blah…
Agentic | adjective | uh-JEN-tik = Able to accomplish results with autonomy, used especially in reference to artificial intelligence. (M-W)
Did Google miscalculate, or are they playing 4-D chess? Regardless, DuckDuckGo installs are spiking as Google’s AI search drives users away, according to the WAN Show.
Furthermore, most people have figured out that AI is far from the promised digital and cultural panacea.
Journalist Patrick Boyle explains not only how “AI Slop” is destroying the Internet but also how AI chatbots are “scraping content without compensation…”:
People are furious because Google is taking their website’s content without credit nor links. Traffic and advertising are disappearing. Suddenly, hard-earned SEO page rank might be worthless.
No visitors, no ad impressions, no money. No bueno. Kevin Powell muses that Google might have just killed websites. He discusses Matthias Ott’s article ‘Ad Infinitum’ which is a super informative read.
Ott notes that while Google generated $295 billion in ad revenue in 2025, there’s been little discussion about how the company will monetize its new Agentic AI search model.
“One approach, proposed by Google Research, is what you might call a ‘token auction.’ In this model, advertisers don’t buy ad slots on a page. Instead, they bid, token by token, on the actual text the model generates.
“Each advertiser brings their own LLM, and an auction mechanism decides whose model gets to influence the next word. The output is a weighted blend of competing interests, shaped by who’s willing to pay more.”
Oh boy. I’m not savvy enough to follow thoroughly, and maybe the whole concept is genius. However, ad-token jargon sounds like a cross-pollinated Agentic Bitcoin nightmare.
I trust the opinion of SEO guru Neil Patel who says the old system is collapsing. TODAY. Yet, where there are losers, there are always winners.
If you run a website that depends on ad revenue and inbound traffic, if you feel gutted and betrayed, then it’s time to suck it up buttercup and pivot.
Or walk away. No shame. More than ever, America needs teachers, nurses, permaculturists, and compassionate group-therapy leaders for recovering MAGA-holics.
But please please please stop clicking on AI Slop, which has usurped Carl Jung. Not to mention legendary Richard Feynman. Nurture discernment. As far as I can tell, the old Internet is dead.
BROWSER WARS RECAP
Soooooooo, Google abandoned its online search tool that won them World Browser War II? That victory led to a 70 percent market share of worldwide desktop browsers and a 66 percent share of mobile phone browsers.
Now they’re giving it up because, because, uhmmm, because Agentic AI?
“I see,” said the blind woman. I watched a dozen videos that explain Google’s justification, but I’m with the blind lady. The House of El explains how Google’s AI exposed a “shitshow”:
El’s pretty face and mesmerizing voice distracted me, but I did come away with two facts: El’s HELLA smart. And I’m old.
I was in college in the ‘90s when Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer (IE) fought World Browser War 1. And I remember hand-coding HTML — constantly checking code in both Netscape and IE on both a Mac and a PC.
Four checks. Something was always messed up: add five pixels of padding here, float a div box there…
These days, in 10 minutes, a kid can create a website that works perfectly on dozens of browsers and many devices. One check.
I digress.
IE won WBW1 by the turn of the millennium. But Netscape’s demise led to Mozilla’s Firefox, and soon Apple’s Safari joined the battle (both browsers are still thriving). By the mid-aughts, WBW2 was in full swing.
A decade later the war was over after Google’s Chrome destroyed everyone. And now, for better or worse, Google is evolving. I wonder if Vegas is taking bets on WBW3.
DuckDuckGo anyone?
Artlist.io generated another browser battle. Superpowers seem to really hate Firefox.