AI Search Wars: How Google, ChatGPT & Others Are Reinventing Search in 2025
On July 1, 2025, Cloudflare and major publishers began blocking AI crawlers by default unless paid, with over a million sites disallowing OpenAI’s GPTBot. Google and Microsoft expanded AI-powered search, adding features like Gemini-powered AI Mode and Bing Chat with GPT-4. Perplexity AI hit 780 million queries in May and plans a new browser. Regulators increased scrutiny after Google’s August 2024 antitrust ruling.