The Future of the Internet: The Next Evolution After the Internet Dies aka Dead Internet Theory

I’ve seen into the future…

Lately, I’ve been fascinated with the Dead Internet Theory (AI content consumed by AI bots). I think this leads to one inevitable conclusion: the rise of industry-specific closed platforms. In this model, people stop “browsing” and start “entering.” The open web becomes noisy, inflated, untrustworthy, and inefficient. So value shifts to:

Gated environments

Authenticated participants

Verified entities

Structured data

Clear intent (buy, source, compare, transact)

The internet could still be top-of-funnel entertainment or discovery hub, but serious work happens in private systems.

Think:

Public web = awareness + storytelling

Private platforms = execution + commerce

This already exists to some extent, but it’s in it’s infancy. Imagine a platform, say in the CPG space (or construction, or automotive, or whatever) not driven by fluffy marketing, SEO, anonymous participants, and AI slop… But a closed or semi-closed network with real buying intent. It’s not optimized by ranking keywords, bounce rates, or time on-site.

This is search → intent → transaction, stripped of fluff. What I’m describing isn’t “a better website.”
It’s the internet fragmenting into purpose-built operating layers, and this isn’t speculative, it’s already underway.

Key characteristics:

• Closed or semi-closed
• Participants are verified businesses, not anonymous publishers
• Information is structured, not SEO-optimized
• AI assists inside the system, not performs for attention
• The goal is decision-making and transactions, not time-on-site

That’s fundamentally different from the open web. The new way is:

“I need an emulsifier supplier that meets X regulatory standard and ships to BC.”

Not: “Let me Google this and wade through 14 listicles and ads.”