The modern web in the AI era in 2026

The web hasn’t fundamentally changed. It’s still built for hundreds of different devices, locations, speeds, and use cases. If anything, the AI flood has pushed more people toward the IndieWeb; reclaiming their blogs, or starting one for the first time, away from big tech platforms. That feels significant to me and a hint to a two tier future, an indie underbelly vs big tech socials.

The irony is that being “AI-ready” and being a good IndieWeb citizen are basically the same thing. A machine-readable output such as RSS, and markdown files are all you need. These formats were good before AI made them fashionable again, and for many of us they’re far more accessible than an ad-ridden JavaScript bundle anyway.

What I find interesting is learning how people are responding to it all. I follow a wide range of folks; some are all-in on AI, some firmly against it. The ones showing stress and burnout aren’t who I’d expect though. It’s not the people using AI tools, who mostly seem energised by what’s possible. It’s those pushing back hardest that seem to have lost faith, energy and a commitment to the web they made starting out in their careers.

I sit in the middle. AI has become genuinely useful to me in ways that matter personally as it helps me work through complex problems I’d otherwise struggle with given my ongoing brain fog, confusion and forgetfulness. I worry about friends and colleagues at both ends of the spectrum though, those who’ve rejected it entirely and are at risk of being left behind many running their own businesses or agencies - will there be enough business for them to survive or will potential clients try AI instead of the something more artisan? And those who’ve embraced it fully, will they find their themselves redundant professionally and practically.

The web endures though. How we use it, and who benefits, is still being worked out. I think it’s more important than ever to link and share indie web content more than ever.

I’ve recently discovered the work of Terry Godier, as well as David Bushell and Declan Chidlow to name but a few.