THE CHANGING WEB • 01
Your customers have changed.
Has your website?
24 AUGUST 2026 Updated 14 SEPTEMBER 2026 • TCB MEDIA
Think about the last time you went online looking for something. For years, finding an answer meant getting reasonably good at search. You chose a few keywords, looked through the results, opened some tabs and tried again if nothing useful appeared. Most of us learned how to do this without giving it much thought.
Now there’s another option. You can describe what you want in your own words, include the details that matter, ask a follow-up question or correct the tool if it misunderstands you. It feels different.
We learned how to search
In October 2025, McKinsey published research into the growth of AI-powered search. Its survey of 1,927 US consumers found that half intentionally use AI-powered search tools when looking for information online. Among people already using AI search, 44 per cent described it as their primary and preferred source of insight.
The numbers matter. So does the behaviour behind them. Traditional search required us to think about the words a search engine was likely to understand. We shortened questions, removed unnecessary detail and changed the wording when the results weren’t right. Without really noticing it, we learned to speak to the search engine.
AI search works differently because you can begin with the question as it exists in your head. That removes some of the effort from finding information and gives the tool more of the work of understanding what you mean. Once you get used to that, the older way can start to feel like work.
Then you reach a website
A search tool may lead you to a business website, but the way you find information changes when you arrive. The website has its own structure, perhaps with sections for services, products, support and frequently asked questions. The answer could be sitting somewhere inside them.
For someone browsing, that structure can be useful. They can look around, compare options and see what the business offers. But sometimes you arrive with a question already in mind. Can you do this particular job? Will this work with what I already have? What is it likely to cost?
At that point, you have to decide where the answer might be and start looking. That made us wonder whether people will remain as willing to do that work. If someone is becoming accustomed to asking for exactly what they want, what happens when they reach a website and have to find the right path again?
We don’t know yet. McKinsey’s research tells us that the way people search is changing, but it doesn’t tell us what those people expect when they arrive at a business website. That is the part we want to understand.
The website isn't disappearing
We’re not suggesting that websites or navigation are about to disappear. People still browse and compare options, and sometimes they don’t know what they need until they see what’s available. A clear website remains useful.
The question is whether it remains useful in the same way for everyone. Some visitors will continue to explore a website through its menus and pages. Others may arrive expecting a more direct route to the information they need.
How large is that second group? What do they do when they can’t find an answer quickly? Do they keep looking, contact the business or leave? We need to find out.
The Changing Web
This is the first article in The Changing Web, a series from TCB Media about the way people find, understand and use information online. We’re starting with the change in search behaviour.
Next, we’ll look at who is changing, and how quickly. Then we’ll take a closer look at the experience of finding information on a business website. We’ll also test some of these ideas on a public website with enough information to make the exercise meaningful.
We have questions. Over the coming weeks, we’re going to see what we can learn.
Source
McKinsey & Company — New front door to the internet: Winning in the age of AI search, 16 October 2025. McKinsey AI Discovery Survey, August 2025; representative US consumer panel, n=1,927.