ChatGPT and AI rivals are shaking up the economic rules of the internet. The rise of large language models (LLMs) is cutting into traditional web services that rely on ad revenue and user data.
The issue started with how AI tools generate content. They pull from vast amounts of internet data but don’t always credit or pay the original creators. This threatens news sites, blogs, and other online content providers who depend on clicks and ads.
Soon after, concerns grew over how LLMs might reroute traffic away from original sources, starving websites of views and income. Content farms and platform owners are now scrambling to adjust their business models. 
The launch of generative AI has pulled the plug on the old internet economy in some ways. Sites that thrived on free content and ad dollars face a new challenge: keeping their lights on as AI reshapes user behavior.
No big lawmakers or companies have stepped up with fixes yet. The internet’s invisible pact—free content for ad support—is under pressure from AI’s rapid growth.
