Hi everyone, this is Neo.

For anyone running an overseas independent site — B2B or B2C — Google is an unavoidable core traffic pool. But with AI developing so fast, traditional SEO is going through a seismic shift.

Recently, Google’s search chief Liz Reid gave an in-depth interview on a podcast called ACCESS, revealing a ton about the future of “Search.” Well-known SEO expert Marie Haynes laid out a detailed breakdown of it.

Today, let’s use this interview to talk about what Google Search will look like in the coming years — and what it means for independent site sellers.

1. Will AI Agents Dominate Future Web Traffic?

In the interview, Liz was explicit: in the future, a huge share of internet activity will be done by AI agents, not just humans. In fact, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, has predicted we’ll move toward a new economic model where AI agents talk to each other — and even negotiate with each other.

You can already see the beginnings. Spotify developers are already leaning heavily on AI to write code, and more companies are building their own agent systems with open-source tools. The share of machine agents in future web activity is going way up.

Neo’s take: For independent site owners and operators going global, this means the traffic structure will fundamentally change. We can’t just think about making our sites readable for “real humans” anymore — we need to start thinking about how “AI agents” can more easily crawl and understand our products and brands. Maybe one day, an AI purchasing assistant will visit your B2B site directly, compare specs, and hand a recommendation to its human buyer.

2. Will Gemini and Google Search Eventually Merge?

Asked whether the Gemini model and Google Search will eventually fuse into a single product, Liz’s answer was: “I don’t know.” Some aspects are converging, she noted, while others are diverging.

Right now, Google’s AI Mode being tested on mobile already looks a lot like a standalone Gemini app. The classic “ten blue links” search era is basically over. When people want to find a specific website, they might use traditional search; but when they need a quick answer, AI Overview (AIO) increasingly satisfies them directly.

Neo’s take: The spread of AIO means that if your independent site is just keyword-stuffed without unique value, you’ll struggle to earn citations in AI-generated answers. Our optimization goal has to shift from pure “ranking” to “AIO visibility.”

3. Does Google Actually Support AI-Generated Content?

This is a question everyone cares about. Google’s official position: it fully supports using AI to help you create content. But Liz stressed one word — “Slop.”

Google will aggressively crack down on low-quality, mass-produced AI content (AI slop) in search results. That’s a wake-up call for every content creator: are you making content that genuinely engages people, or are you manufacturing the same junk ten thousand other people are making, hoping it ranks on page one?

Neo’s take: Lots of sellers like to mass-generate hundreds of AI blog posts to blanket keywords — that approach is getting riskier by the day. You can use AI for formatting, polishing, even drafting outlines, but the core unique insights, real cases, and product differentiation must come from you. You can even feed your finished draft to ChatGPT and ask: “Is this an original, deep insight, or is it just repeating clichés from the web?” If it’s the latter, it’s not helping your SEO at all.

4. Personalization Will Play a Bigger Role

Liz repeatedly mentioned Google’s “Personal Intelligence.” Future search will tilt more toward the sites you’re “already connected to.”

For example, if you subscribe to someone’s cooking channel, Google will try to surface that person’s recipes in search results. Because Google knows users are more likely to trust and click sources they’re familiar with — or have paid to support.

Neo’s take: This might be the biggest tailwind for independent site sellers who build real brands! If a user has visited your site, subscribed to your email list, or bought your product, Google will lean toward showing them your content first. This is exactly why we need to pour effort into private-domain accumulation and brand building. The deeper your connection with customers, the more free traffic Google hands you.

5. Will Micropayments Become a New Monetization Model?

The podcast touched on how much high-quality content is now locked behind paywalls. Liz hinted that an AI-based micropayment system could emerge in the future, letting users easily pay for a single, trusted article instead of buying a full annual subscription.

Combined with Google’s AP2 (Agents to Payments Protocol) released last year, AI may even be able to transact directly with other AI in the future.

Neo’s take: Micropayments don’t affect B2C or B2B sellers directly today, but they signal an important shift in Google’s ecosystem: transaction paths getting radically shorter. Maybe one day, users will complete micro-transactions for your independent site’s products right in Google’s AI chat box, through an AI agent. That means we should keep our infrastructure compatible with new tech as it arrives.

Summary

Let me wrap up the core takeaways from this interview:

1. Traffic structure is changing: Get ready for machine traffic from AI agents. Your site needs to be readable by AI, not just humans.
2. SEO strategy is upgrading: Shift from fighting for “rankings” to fighting for “AI citations (AIO visibility).”
3. Content is king again: Refuse to mass-produce AI slop. Focus on unique, high-quality original content.
4. Value your user connections: Under personalized distribution, the value of your subscribers and brand fans multiplies.

The wheel of time is turning, and AI is reshaping search completely. Rather than stressing over traffic fluctuations, start planning early and embrace these changes.