The traditional search engine may be entering a new phase as artificial intelligence agents increasingly become the users searching the internet.
Keenable, a new startup founded by former Yandex and Amazon search executives, has raised $26 million in seed funding to develop search infrastructure specifically designed for AI agents.
The funding round was led by Accel, with participation from Conviction Partners and other investors.
Search was built for humans
Traditional search engines were designed around human behaviour.
People type a question.
A search engine produces a list of results.
The user then opens several websites and reads the information.
AI agents operate differently.
An AI system can process much larger volumes of information.
It can scan documents, compare sources and extract specific information.
That means the infrastructure supporting search may need to change.
Keenable’s approach
Keenable says it has built a web index containing more than 100 billion documents.
The company is developing technology that allows AI systems to retrieve information more efficiently.
Its API is reportedly already being used by AI laboratories and inference providers.
The company has also partnered with voice AI company Gradium.
Why AI agents need different search
An AI agent does not necessarily want ten blue links.
It wants information.
That distinction could reshape the search industry.
An agent planning a trip, for example, might need to compare airline schedules, hotel availability, weather conditions and transportation options.
Rather than presenting the user with hundreds of links, the AI system can gather information from multiple sources and produce an answer.
Cost is a major challenge
Searching the entire internet is expensive.
AI agents can generate enormous numbers of queries.
Each query may require crawling and processing multiple sources.
Keenable is therefore attempting to make the process more efficient.
Its technology aims to narrow the search space quickly instead of scanning huge portions of the web for every request.
Google faces a changing environment
Google remains the dominant search company.
However, AI is changing how people find information.
Users are increasingly asking chatbots questions rather than typing queries into traditional search engines.
This creates a challenge for Google and other search companies.
The future of search may involve a combination of traditional results, AI-generated answers and autonomous agents.
The opportunity for startups
Keenable believes smaller companies can innovate more quickly.
The startup is also developing a Web Query Language designed to allow AI systems to combine information from multiple sources.
Such technology could become important as AI agents become more capable.
A new internet audience
The biggest implication may be that websites are no longer serving only human readers.
They are increasingly being accessed by machines.
AI crawlers are already becoming a significant part of internet traffic.
This could change how websites are structured, indexed and monetised.
The future of search
The search engine of the future may not look like today’s Google.
Instead of a page full of links, users could have AI agents that search, compare, verify and act on information.
Keenable’s investment shows that entrepreneurs and investors are already preparing for that future.
