What if I told you the internet was dead?

Not in the physical sense.

I mean, your WiFi still works, websites still load, people are still logging onto Facebook and Instagram.

But according to one widespread conspiracy theory, there’s something weird and uncanny about cyberspace in 2025.

…it’s a ghost town, populated by non-human entities.

This concept is known as the ‘Dead Internet Theory’.

It states that MOST of what we now experience online is no longer generated by real people… but by bots, algorithms, shady state controllers, and synthetic intelligence.

Today we’ve got fake users in conversation with other fake users..

Bots arguing with bots on X…

Content created by AI being commented on by AI.

And most of the internet traffic (over 50%, according to cybersecurity firm Imperva) coming from bot-based activity.

A lot of the posts created by AI deliberately stimulate likes, comments, arguments, outrage, clicks – sometimes with no clear purpose or origin at all.

You might have noticed this yourself.

On Google, the search results feel a little thin these days, don’t they?

It’s like someone copy-and-pasted 300 versions of the same mediocre article and then made a few tweaks.

What’s more, the first results you get when you search on Google are now AI-generated. (As I write this Google has just announced they are rolling out AI Search Mode in the UK – this is going to be a BIG DEAL and I’ll be sharing my thoughts with you about it very soon!)

Then when you read Amazon reviews, questions on Quora or responses on Reddit you begin to wonder…

Are these real?

Are those made by humans?

Even news articles can feel a bit iffy or uncanny, like there’s something not quite right about them.

So what does this mean?

The Pros and Cons of a Ghostly Internet

Broadly, there are two ways of looking at this..

You could see this as a bleak dystopia where the soul of the internet has been hollowed out… where non-human entities are populating human spaces… and we’re being manipulated by forces that nobody truly understands, never mind control.

Or…

If you were more futuristically minded, you could marvel at the advent of a new form of consciousness… a system that is evolving and operating on its own terms, free of any human agency, that could transform life on earth itself.

Perhaps both can be true?!

But whether you pivot towards pessimism or optimism, there’s a third way of looking at it.

You could see this as the greatest opportunity in the last 15 years to stand out online and sell your products.

Because think of it this way…

If the average piece of online content is now hollow, repetitive, fake or purely designed to generate clicks….

Then being a real person with a unique voice, a compelling backstory and a strong opinion becomes gold dust.

How to More Human Online

Now, as you know, I’m a big advocate of using AI and I’ve recommended using it for online contact.

So I hope you don’t think I’m contradicting myself here.

But AI is a tool that you can use to overcome obstacles like a lack of skill, time and confidence, or struggles with writing, editing and structuring text.

And in all my guides and courses on this subject, I’ve always maintained that AI material MUST contain ‘you’.

That means putting lots of yourself into the briefings and prompts you give it, including examples of how you talk and write, details of your personality and worldview, and your backstory.

It also means NEVER just taking what AI throws out and publishing it as yours – otherwise it becomes just like the bot-created stuff that’s filling the internet.

You must shape it in a way that suits your tastes… ask for more research… drop in your own jokes, opinions and asides… and cut out absolutely everything that sounds cliched and robotic.

Use language that’s imperfect, quirky and even incorrect – because it’s the flaws that make you human.

You could even…

• Swear (if that’s your thing)
• Rant (within reason,)
• Share your odd rituals (habits, obsessions,)
• Offer up your own hot takes!

And as much as possible, drop in details that are specific to you, including local references, biographical details, pop culture references specific to your life experience and jokes you’ve heard from real people.

This applies to everything you put out: blog posts, newsletters, sales pages, product descriptions, social media captions.

The aim is to show visitors to a website or social media page that YOU ARE A HUMAN.

One technique I recommend is this….

The Voice-Capturing Trick

Whenever you need to create content, like a blog post, social media post, product listing or sales promotion, then don’t write anything at first.

Instead get out your phone, activate the voice recorder, and just speak into it, as if you were talking to a friend.

You can also do the same on ‘Word’ by clicking the microphone icon on the top menu bar which has the tag: ‘Dictate’.

Now you can speak at your computer screen and the words will flow onto the page.

That should then become the basis of the text you feed into AI.

EXAMPLE PROMPT: “I am going to feed you a transcript of my voice. Please tidy this up with added punctuation without re-writing it or changing the tone and style. I want it to reflect my speaking style.”

Of course, if you’re not using AI then you can also use this same technique to get your ‘voice’ down on paper so that you can then work from that.

And it’s not just about your voice.

There’s another way that you can spot AI slop and generic bot-created material.

Be Useful

Without any human input, AI tends towards generic content that looks like it’s saying a lot, but doesn’t offer real value.

What does ‘value’ entail?

Well, it comes down to being useful.

When you click on a link to an online piece that has a promising headline, you need it to deliver.

That means…

• An enlightening, unique or surprising idea that makes you better informed
• A practical tip or step-by-step instructions that help you achieve a specific goal.
• Resources, links and recommendations that are genuine, and which you can click through to.
• Specific facts and figures that are accurate and up-to-date.
• Fresh information that’s relevant and topical.

This is all stuff that bot-generated material sorely lacks, so make sure you get that into all your content!

And finally…

Escape the Algorithms

Whether the human internet is really dying or not, the fact remains…

If you rely entirely on being visible ONLY through organic search engines, you’re going to become vulnerable in the coming years.

Because the more AI material begins to dominate, and the more the bots begin to manipulate what people see, the further down the rankings you’ll slide.

However, this isn’t a problem if you take control and use YOUR OWN channels.

For example…

• Build an email list (this is still the best way to reach people directly and you control your own list)
• Create downloadable PDFs, cheat sheets, or mini-courses to capture leads online.
• Start a community, even if it’s just a free Facebook Group or a website forum, where people who might be interested in your products can gather.
• Consider using channels like WhatsApp or Telegram to open up direct communication with customers and subscribers.

Ultimately, I can’t tell you what’s going to happen to the internet. But what I do know is that if you want to make money online, and stand out against the competition, you need to be human.

If you can make your personality shine in a crowd of robots, you’ll put yourself ahead of 90% of the content online.

What do you think?