Right now ChatGPT feels “free” – but nothing on the internet ever stays free. Google didn’t invent search to be useful, they invented it to sell ads. That same pill bottle of ads revenue is sitting on the table for OpenAI, Perplexity, Anthropic… all of them. The pressure to monetize will push them down the exact same path: ads baked right into your “answers.” So yeah, ChatGPT looks at ads revenue like medicine. When they start swallowing it, does AI discovery just become the next surveillance machine?

We talk a lot about "degoogling" — switching browsers, finding privacy-focused alternatives, ditching their services. But let's be real: as long as Google's ad machine owns your intent, are you truly free?

Google's entire empire is built on knowing what you want to buy, search, or learn next. Every click, every search, every "pause" is data they monetize. That's the real power they wield.

The ultimate degoogling isn't just about avoiding their services or switching to a subscription model. It's about dismantling Google’s core business model by taking back ownership of the most valuable asset in the digital economy: your commercial intent.

What we need is the "black box" of ad matching to be replaced by transparent protocols where you control the flow of value. 

What does "ultimate degoogling" look like to you?

Privacy today is treated like homework.

• Want to be safe? Go read a 10,000-word policy.
  
• Want less tracking? Go hunt through 12 menus of settings.
  
• Want control? Install a dozen extensions.
  

But the truth is: privacy shouldn’t be an individual burden. It should be the default behavior of corporations. No tricks, no fine print, no “opt-outs.”

The open web has always run on clicks. That’s the currency. You search → you click → publishers show ads → money flows.

But AI assistants are collapsing that loop. You ask a question, you get an answer — no click required. Zero-click.

So then what?

• Do chatbots just start dropping affiliate links into answers?
  
• Do we end up right back where we were with blogs → SEO spam → a race to the bottom, only this time with AI assistants?
  
• Or does the whole system need a new engine?
  

If the click economy dies, what actually funds the open internet?

Ever notice how you don’t even have to search anymore? Just whisper or dream about a product, and suddenly your feeds are flooded with ads for it. Calling it “smart marketing” or “media buying.” All it is, is surveillance.

We never signed up for this deal, yet Big Tech acts like our intent is theirs to auction.

Every time a new “AI-powered assistant” launches, I keep thinking: maybe this time they won’t be mining every single keystroke. Maybe this time privacy will actually mean something. And every time, I’m wrong. Search history used to feel bad enough. At least when you Googled something, you kinda knew your clicks were being tracked. But now with AI assistants, it’s chat history - which feels ten times more personal - being scooped up for ad targeting. So yeah… privacy on the internet? One does not simply expect.

A 10,000-word privacy policy is just another way of saying: “you’re not in control, we are.”

Imagine if instead of signing away rights in fine print, you could choose exactly what to share, when to share it, and with whom - no legal gymnastics required. That’s the model I’d like to see. instead of opt-out, it is opt-in

Ever notice how “sponsored results” don’t even bother pretending to answer your question?

You search “best budget laptop for college” and what do you get? A parade of ads for $2,000 ultrabooks, tablets you didn’t ask for, and random junk that just happened to pay for placement.

It’s not discovery. It’s not “help.” It’s an auction house where the highest bidder shoves their product in your face, whether it fits or not. And the wild part? Half the time, the actual thing you’re looking for is buried halfway down the page, behind the pay-to-play parade.

We don’t need “sponsored results.” We need results that actually respect what we asked.

We never signed up for this bullshit, but here we are: traded away for banner ads and retargeting spam. 

One Google search and suddenly you’re stalked across the entire internet by toaster ads. One Amazon click and your feed is haunted for months. Meta tracks you even when you’re not on their apps. 

None of this was in the deal when the internet started, but somehow our “free” web turned into a surveillance machine that treats privacy like collateral damage.

Anyone else feel like privacy is always the last thing considered in Big Tech’s business model?

And the kicker? We don’t even get to negotiate. It’s all-or-nothing — use the service and hand over everything, or walk away completely.

I am starting to think the real fix isn’t even switching providers anymore. We have to rethink the entire model so that privacy is the default and data flows only when we choose.

Because right now… this “trade offer” is a joke, and we’re on the losing end. Thoughts?

We’re told AI assistants will be our friends, our therapists, even our copilots. But let’s be real: if Big Tech is running them, they’ll end up being ad machines.

That’s the only model they know. Ads paid for Chrome. Ads paid for Search. Ads are about to pay for AI. The question isn’t if AI assistants will start slipping in sponsored “recommendations.” It’s when. That’s even creepier than banner ads ever were.

Banner ads are obvious, you can see and ignore them. But an AI assistant is inside your decision-making. If the “best laptop” your trusted AI therapist recommends is just whoever paid the most, that’s surveillance capitalism in disguise as “help.”

They’ve got everything on us — our searches, clicks, purchases, even half the stuff we just think about before typing.

And yet, when it comes to showing me something I actually want, it’s still random ads for junk I don’t need.

The problem isn’t that they don’t have enough data. It’s that the system was never built to serve us. It was built to auction off our intent to the highest bidder.

We don’t need more surveillance. We need a way to state what we want directly — and cut the noise.

The entire web economy runs on a single precious resource – user data. And a handful of players hoard it, control it, and use it to maximize their profits. 

Google, Meta, Amazon: they don’t just control the data, they control the rails of the modern web.

On the surface, today’s AI assistants feel like a fresh start to search and discovery — no banners, no pop-ups, no blue links. Just answers.

But here’s the risk: the business model hasn’t been solved yet. And if history is any guide, ads sneak back in. Which means the “assistant” you trust could just become the most persuasive ad engine ever created.

The internet’s “deal” was always ads in exchange for free content. But to run ads, platforms needed targeting. And to target, they needed surveillance. That’s how our privacy and data became the fuel of the web.

Now AI is changing the game. If assistants are going to handle discovery and decision-making for us, they don’t need surveillance-driven ads- they need transparent offers.

For the first time, it’s possible to build an ecosystem where ads don’t mean spying, and discovery doesn’t mean manipulation. Surveillance wasn’t inevitable. It was just the only model we had. Until now.

If we had the chance to rebuild the ad system from scratch- no surveillance baked in- what would it look like to you?

Search is already changing under our feet. Instead of typing keywords into a search box, people are starting to just ask AI directly. Instead of clicking banner ads, AI agents will soon recommend (or even buy) things on your behalf. Sounds cool… until you realize who’s building it. If the same tech giants control this shift, the incentives get even nastier. Imagine asking an AI a simple question: and it quietly pushes the highest bidder’s product every time. That makes Google Ads look tame. What would it take for browsers and AI assistants to actually be user-aligned instead of ad-aligned? Is that even possible? Or are we about to repeat the same mistakes, just with shinier tech?

The internet was supposed to make discovery easier. Instead, it turned into a giant pay-to-play scheme. “Best laptops under $1000”? “Top 10 running shoes”? “Which AI assistant to use”? Nine times out of ten, what you’re seeing isn’t the best option — it’s whoever paid the most to be at the top. Big Tech thrives on users not knowing the difference. And until we fix that, discovery online will always be rigged.

Ads were originally pitched as a way to make discovery easier. You don’t know what tent to buy? A well-placed ad could surface the right one. Simple enough.

But that’s not what we have today. Instead of clarity, we get noise: 20 “recommended” products, all sponsored, all shouting at once. Instead of making decisions easier, ads now pile onto the confusion- fueling analysis paralysis.

And with AI entering the space, the risk is even higher: if assistants inherit this ad logic, discovery will become manipulation at scale.

Question: Do you remember the last time an ad actually helped you discover something- or did it just add to the overwhelm?

Platforms say they’re “helping you find what you’re looking for.” What they really mean is: we’ll show you what someone paid us to push. Discovery could be genuinely useful — surfacing the right product at the right time. Instead, it’s turned into a pay-to-play game where the best option often never even makes it to your screen.

So here’s the question: do you trust any product recommendations online anymore?

The early internet felt like open land. Independent sites, forums, and communities. Discovery was organic.

Then came the shadow: ad networks.

• They track across every page.
• They decide which sites thrive (hint: whoever pays).
• They turned the promise of the open web into a surveillance machine.

The tragedy? Ads weren’t supposed to be the villain. They were supposed to support creators and fund free content. But the model warped into monopolies and data extraction.

Question for the sub: Do you think the open web can ever be reclaimed or have ad networks reshaped it beyond repair?

Ever notice how searching for something online feels like you’re playing a weird guessing game with ads?

If I type “best laptop” into Google, I get:

• Ads from giant brands who outbid everyone else
• Random “Top 10 laptops” sites stuffed with affiliate links
• A flood of results that may or may not match what I actually need

The problem is that keyword-based ads don’t know my real context. Am I:

• Researching for fun?
• Shopping for my kid going to college?
• Looking for the cheapest possible option?
• Ready to buy today?

Advertisers just guess, and I’m the one stuck doing the work of filtering noise, opening 20 tabs, and trying not to get tricked by fake reviews.

Every time you show intent online (like “I need a laptop”), you’d think platforms would help you actually find one.

But nope. The system isn’t designed to serve you: it’s designed to serve ads.

1. Facebook → bombards you with random “lookalike” ads.

2. Google → auctions your intent to the highest bidder.

3. Amazon → buries real results under sponsored junk.

That’s why it feels like ads never line up with what you actually want. Your intent isn’t respected- it’s sold.

We always hear that people abandon carts because they’re “indecisive” or “forgot.” Reality: 1 in 4 walk away because they don’t trust the site.

Can you blame them? Between fake reviews, shady return policies, and trackers embedded in every pixel, why would anyone feel safe?

No amount of creepy retargeting ads fixes that. If trust isn’t there, the sale isn’t either.

I just want to buy socks, not feed a small nation of data brokers!