For years, Google has positioned itself as the gatekeeper of a “healthy” internet—telling everyone that AI isn’t killing web traffic and that publishers are still getting clicks. But last week, a single line in a legal filing flipped the script: Google admitted that “the open web is already in rapid decline.”

Yep, you read that right.

The admission came during a case where the U.S. Department of Justice is pressing Google to break up its massive advertising monopoly. Google pushed back, warning that if forced to split up its ad business, the open web’s decline would only speed up—hurting publishers who rely on display ads to survive. In other words: mess with us, and the web collapses faster.

This statement starkly contrasts Google’s public messaging. Just a few months ago, CEO Sundar Pichai proudly claimed AI search tools were actually sending traffic to more publishers, not fewer. Other execs echoed the same talking points, saying “the web is thriving” and clicks were “relatively stable.”

So what changed?

According to Google, the real shift isn’t AI search—it’s competition. Ad money is pouring into newer spaces like Connected TV, retail media, and closed platforms, instead of traditional open-web ads. Meanwhile, smaller publishers are reporting major traffic losses after Google’s algorithm tweaks and the rise of AI chatbots that answer questions without sending users anywhere.

When asked about the filing, a Google spokesperson tried to walk it back, claiming the quote was “cherry-picked” and only referred to “open-web display advertising,” not the open web itself. But for website owners watching their traffic plummet, the distinction probably feels meaningless.

The bigger takeaway? The internet as you know it—free, open, and powered by countless independent sites—might actually be slipping away. And ironically, the company that once branded itself as its biggest defender just admitted it.