#Info - an "AI" supply chain dilemma

The recent quiet removal by Google of the "num=100" search parameter, which allowed users to view up to 100 search results on a single page, is reshaping the AI ecosystem, the SEO landscape, and broader internet visibility with significant consequences for startups, content creators, and AI models.

The Change and Its Immediate Effects

Until recently, users and SEO tools could set the "num=100" parameter to see 100 Google search results at once. Google has now disabled this, limiting the maximum visible search results on a single page to 10. This seemingly minor change drastically reduces how many search results are immediately accessible without additional pagination.

This update is not just about convenience. The reduction from 100 to 10 results per page has caused sharp drops in impressions and rankings as reported in Google Search Console data, hitting about 87.7% of websites with reduced search impressions and about 77.6% losing ranking terms visibility. The hits are especially acute for short-tail and mid-tail keywords and have distorted SEO performance tracking metrics, making organic visibility appear weaker.

Impact on Startups, SEO, and Organic Discovery

For startups, this change means organic discovery just got much harder. Product visibility on Google, a critical driver of traffic and evaluation, is diminished as users see fewer results upfront. The dropped ability to scroll or scrape for dozens of relevant results limits opportunities for businesses yet to reach page one in search rankings. As a result, cracking distribution and visibility is now a heavier lift, not just for SEO professionals but also for AI-driven applications that rely on web data.

Moreover, the performance tracking of keywords and competitor analysis become more challenging and costly since SEO tools that scrape data from search results must now paginate extensively instead of pulling large batches in a single query. This drives up costs, slows data collection, and may force SEO tools to either raise prices or limit query volumes.

Consequences for AI Models and the "AI Supply Chain"

From an AI ecosystem perspective, this has been described as an "AI supply chain" problem. Many modern AI models trained on or that integrate real-time web data require broad access to the depth of the internet's information. Google's removal of deeper bulk search results makes it harder for external AI models to access comprehensive web data, effectively making the internet's "training data" shallower.

Google's AI features, such as AI Overviews and AI Mode, which offer summarized answers directly in search results, are also linked to diminished web traffic on traditional sites—reducing the web ecosystem's direct engagement. This shift can discourage content creators as organic traffic, a critical revenue source, diminishes.

The Broader Implications

In today's digital marketplace, the best products—or even groundbreaking AI innovations—risk obscurity if users cannot find them easily. This fundamental shift in the visibility and accessibility of information means that startups and content creators must now prioritize distribution strategies beyond organic search optimization. The internet's vastness is throttled back into narrower views, reshaping who and what gains attention.

The full scope of Google's rationale remains unclear—whether the change is permanent or experimental—but the ripple effects are already intense across SEO metrics, startup visibility, AI model access, and the broader internet content ecosystem.

This Google update signals a reshaping of how we interact with and derive value from search and AI-driven information discovery, underscoring a tougher environment for organic visibility that demands innovation in distribution and content strategy.

If users cannot find a product or information, it may never be properly evaluated or appreciated—echoing the insight that even the best products risk dying in silence without discovery. This represents a shift from simply building great solutions to mastering the challenge of getting noticed in a now shallower digital landscape.