Will AI Tools Like ChatGPT Replace Traditional Websites?

Every few years, someone confidently announces the death of the website.
This time, it’s AI.

Apparently, we’re all about to live inside chat windows. Clicking neat little cards. Booking things. Buying things. Never touching a proper website again. Which sounds futuristic. And also like something that’s been said before… loudly… and wrongly.

Tools like ChatGPT are absolutely changing how people discover brands and get answers. That part’s real. The panic about websites vanishing altogether though feels a bit like declaring kitchens obsolete because you once ordered a takeaway.

So instead of guessing, I did some digging. I found and asked others like me who actually build, market, and think about this stuff for a living! Designers. Developers. Marketers. People who’ve survived enough “this changes everything” moments to stay calm.

Here’s what they had to say.

The Website Isn’t Dead… It’s Just Not the Star Anymore

A lot of experts landed in the same place. Websites aren’t disappearing. They’re just quietly being moved backstage.

Andrew Franks from Reclaim247 put it bluntly, saying AI browsing “won’t kill off the website” and that sites will still exist as “structured data powerhouses” that feed information into cards and widgets. In his view, the website becomes “a backend, not an end in itself”, with conversational interfaces acting as “a literal front door”.

That idea of AI as the front door came up again and again.

Edward Tian from GPTZero explained that conversations with brands through ChatGPT “are not about visiting pages” but “about asking for something to happen”. Instead of landing on a homepage, users will interact with “small functional pieces inside of that chat setting”, often through cards or mini apps that handle booking, comparison, or payments.

But even he was clear that businesses still need “real websites” for “in depth information, long form content, legal content, trust signals”. In short… the stuff you don’t want summarised in two lines by a robot.

Trust Still Lives on a Domain You Own

Despite all the chat based excitement, trust hasn’t magically moved into AI.

Nick Mikhalenkov from Nine Peaks Media pointed out that we’re heading toward “a split model where brands maintain a full site for trust and depth, and create AI native micro experiences”. Importantly, he noted that “more than 70 percent of conversions still begin on a domain they control”, and that trust doesn’t vanish just because discovery changes.

Nirmal Gyanwali from Nirmal Web Studio echoed that idea, saying the traditional website won’t disappear, but “the homepage will matter less”. AI chats will handle comparisons and simple actions, but “when money, risk or emotion is high, people still want to click through to a real site”.

Faces. Proof. Case studies. Depth.
Funny how those things never go out of fashion.

AI Changes the First Click… Not the Final Decision

Several experts made the same distinction in different ways. The website isn’t dying. It’s just losing its role as the first stop.

Justin Bonfini over at Premier Construction Software described it as “the death of the website as the first stop”, not the death of the website itself. AI tools will surface “mini experiences” that get users the basics quickly, but when buyers get serious, they still want “depth, proof, and a sense of legitimacy”.

He summed it up nicely by saying AI cards may become “the new homepage”, but “not the whole house”. You still need somewhere your story and data live properly.

George Fironov from Talmatic backed this up, saying traditional websites will remain “a source of truth and core brand presence”, even as interaction shifts toward conversational interfaces. In his view, websites will have “dual purposes”… serving humans and supporting AI agents that redistribute content elsewhere.

Not Everyone Wants to Play Along

Of course, this future isn’t friction free.

Ollie Smith from VAT Calculators raised a big point that often gets skipped in AI hype pieces… not everyone wants their data fed into chat tools.

He pointed to Amazon as an example, saying there’s “no way they want to give up their role as the go to search bar for products”. Letting ChatGPT access product data would undermine a pay per click model worth “38 billion a year”. Unsurprisingly, that’s led to blocking and pushback.

So while some brands race toward AI integration, others are very much slamming the door and locking it.

The Clean Up We Probably Needed Anyway

A few voices took a longer view.

Eugenia Cosinschi at Multiact Media reminded us that plenty of technologies were supposed to end everything. Television. Video calls. Ebooks. AMP pages. None of them did.

She expects new formats like “AI blocks, cards, mini apps, conversational interfaces” and more reliance on structured data. But she also believes websites will stick around because owners still need “a place where they can control the information they put out”.

Her hopeful takeaway… keyword stuffed sites and content farms will disappear, making room for “unique, authoritative and human generated content”. Which feels overdue.

So… Are Websites Disappearing?

Short answer. No.

Longer answer. They’re being demoted from centre stage.

AI tools like ChatGPT will increasingly handle discovery and quick actions. They’ll answer questions. Surface options. Handle simple transactions. That’s not the end of the web. It’s just a new layer on top of it.

When things get serious though… money, risk, credibility, trust… people still want somewhere solid to land. A place that feels owned. Considered. Real.

That place is still your website.

It just needs to work harder behind the scenes now. Cleaner. Clearer. Built so both humans and AI can understand it without needing a lie down.

The future isn’t page less.
It’s just less precious about pages.

And honestly… that was probably coming anyway.