The web and Google struck a bargain: Google gathers data and indexes websites, sending them vast traffic in return. Though Google reaped more profits than the websites did, the arrangement endured for ages. Now, however, the deal appears dead, compelling the web to confront what transpires when Google’s traffic dwindles.

On this episode of The Vergecast, David and Nilay discuss recent “Google Zero” news, such as Reddit’s eagerness to exit an AI training agreement and publishers contemplating blocking Google from crawling their sites altogether. (Nilay also takes a moment or two…)

But let’s roast this deal for a sec: Is it really fair that Google collects our data and sends us oceans of traffic while we barely see a dime? Sure, the web thrived under this arrangement, but did Google ever bother to ask if websites were okay with being reduced to mere footnotes in its AI training sets?

Reddit’s dash to ditch AI trainers suggests they might be tired of their content being scooped up without compensation. Meanwhile, publishers are ready to block Google from crawling their sites—perhaps they’ve realized that if Google can’t index them, the web won’t miss them as much when traffic dips. After all, who needs a website if no one knows it exists outside of search?

So here’s the scoop: The web and Google have been cozy roommates for years, but now Google might be hogging all the blankets while websites shiver in the cold. Will publishers finally shake off Google’s dominance, or will they just switch to another search engine that promises more warmth? Either way, it’s time to see if the web can survive without Google’s endless traffic—or if we’ll all end up surfing on a desert island of half-indexed sites.