The Language of Kings

Today at a Glance

• A massive customer experience shift is underway
• Google search is down… for the first time ever.
• Decades of Micro-improvements are being replaced overnight
• AI is collapsing the customer journey into a single conversation
  
  

Quick Life Update

Four weeks ago, we moved our family from California to Connecticut.

All my friends keep asking, "How do you like it?" and "What are the biggest differences you've seen so far?"

It’s the little things that stand out the most. Here’s a short list:

• Gas is half the price
• Kids camps, activities, and sports are half the price
• Registering my car is $40/year. In LA, it was $850/year
• The roads are meaningfully better, despite the snow and weather
• Local shops are often staffed by high school kids
• Parking in town, at the beach, at state parks... is free
• I haven’t seen a homeless person in four weeks
• House cleaning is less than half the price
• We’ve already had dinner with most of our neighbors
• Nothing is crowded. Parks, shopping centers, grocery stores, Home Depot... I have yet to wait in a line anywhere

What’s wild is that the minimum wage in Connecticut is high, like it is in California. So how is everything—especially labor-intensive services like cleaning, car washes, kids’ activities—so much less expensive?

My initial assumption: it’s the cost of operating a business in California. Ambiguous laws, a litigation-heavy climate, and sky-high insurance premiums raise the cost of everything.

It’s only been a few weeks, and I’m sure some trade-offs will surface. But so far—we love it. And the kids are having a blast.

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Today’s Edition

A concept I can’t stop thinking about—and one that’s come up in nearly every conversation with entrepreneur friends—is this:

We’re in the middle of one of the most dramatic shifts in how people interact with technology.

For decades, our digital lives have revolved around the search bar.

You want to find something? You search for it.
You want to book something? You search for it.
You want to buy something? You search for it.

Search was the universal starting point.
The UI was tabs, tiles, filters, forms.

Over time, companies improved that interface with micro-optimizations:

• Ratings and reviews
  
• “Frequently bought with” carousels
  
• True Fit, True Color Match
  
• AR previews in your living room
  
• Saved profiles, payment details, and push nudges to remind you to re-order
  
  

These were incremental gains—a steady progression from print catalogs to websites to apps. From in-person travel agents to Travelocity. From Googling “private car” to tapping Uber.

Each micro improvement created by companies now valued in the billions of dollars. 

But for the first time in 20+ years, we’re not looking at a marginal improvement.

We’re looking at a full replacement.

The Interface is Disappearing

Something wild is happening right now.

Consumer behavior has changed—not in 5 years, not next year—right now.

People aren’t starting at the search bar anymore.

They’re opening ChatGPT, or Perplexity, or some other AI agent…

…and just talking.

Not clicking through a dozen pages.
Not comparing reviews.
Not filtering by price and color and shipping speed.

Just saying what they want—and getting it.

Why This Shift is Different

Every other interface evolution—apps, autofill, “1-click” checkout—still followed the same basic flow:

1. Impulse
   
2. Search (Google, Amazon, Travelocity, Meta, etc)
   
3. Evaluate
   
4. Decide
   
5. Checkout
   

That entire customer journey is collapsing into a single step:

“Hey ChatGPT, find me the best carry-on suitcase under $300 that fits Delta’s bag size and looks good with a navy blazer.”

No filters.
No reviews.
No websites.

Just the answer.

And soon… the action.

Entrepreneurs Are Feeling It

Every founder I talk to who runs a consumer-facing product is feeling the pressure.

There’s excitement—because a new interface creates new opportunity.

And there’s fear—because their moat may no longer be their UX or recommendation engine or checkout flow.

When the UX becomes a conversation, you lose control of the front door.
The customer doesn’t start at your homepage anymore.
They start with their AI agent—and your site might never even be in the loop.

What This Means For Builders

This is the platform shift moment.

Like mobile.
Like cloud.
Like social.

Except this time, it’s not a new place for the interface.

It’s the removal of the interface.

Your job as a founder, designer, or operator is about to change:

• You’re no longer optimizing for conversion rate through your landing page
  
  
• You’re optimizing for agent compatibility
  
  
• You’re no longer fighting for top placement on a marketplace
  
  
• You’re fighting to be the one result a user’s AI returns
  
  

The interface isn’t pixels.
It’s conversation.

And if you’re not integrated into that conversation, you don’t exist.

One last thought:
When Google search traffic is falling for the first time ever, pay attention.
This isn’t a UX update.
It’s a foundational shift in how people consume everything digital.

And the best founders will treat it like one.