The machine used to match. Now it chooses.

Then: Google matched keywords, returned ten links, and a human chose — deterministic, winnable mechanically. Now: machines read meaning, compare, and answer, naming two or three. When Google shows an AI summary, people click a regular result on 8% of visits, against 15% without one (Pew Research, 68,879 searches). Every surface runs the same filter: answer engines, social feeds, forums, shopping agents.