What Does a Walled Garden Mean for the Internet? Welcome to the Age of Zero Clicks
By Maryanna Franco
We’ve all heard the term “walled garden,” especially in digital marketing and tech circles. But what does walled garden really mean for the internet today?
Short answer: it means users are staying inside closed ecosystems (consuming, clicking, even buying) without ever leaving the platform. And yes, Google, ChatGPT and Tiktok are right at the center of this transformation.
🌐 What Is a Walled Garden on the Internet?
Let’s clear up the definition.
A walled garden on the internet is a platform that controls the user experience from start to finish. Once you enter, the platform does everything it can to keep you there: feeding you content, products, videos, answers, and even purchases, all without sending you elsewhere.
Social media platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn are classic examples. But the new (and slightly more controversial) player in this space? Google.
🔍 Google Zero Click: The Walled Garden Search Experience
Search used to be simple. You’d Google something, browse a few blue links, and visit a website.
Now, you search for “Perfume Brand” and here’s what you see:
- AI-generated overview at the top
- Product cards with pricing and reviews
- YouTube videos that play right on the SERP
- A Knowledge Panel with extra info and links
- A “Buy” button that lets you check out, without leaving Google
Welcome to the Google zero click era.
In a zero click search, users get everything they need without ever clicking through to a website. It’s fast, frictionless, and user-focused. But for marketers, it changes the game completely.
🤖 AI Overviews, Knowledge Panels, and Products: All in One Place
Google is blending intent layers right into the SERP: informational, navigational, and transactional all live side by side. You can:
- Learn about a product or topic
- Watch a related video
- Compare prices
- Read reviews
- And purchase it, all without clicking away
In one example we tested live, we saw product cards directly in the Knowledge Panel. You could choose the variant, check the price, and buy without visiting the retailer’s website. It’s zero-click shopping, and it’s already here.
🛒 Shopping Meets Search: Why This Isn’t Just a Google Thing
It’s not just Google. Platforms like Perplexity are now integrating product recommendations into their results. ChatGPT is not far behind. Everyone wants to become the one-stop-shop for information and transactions.
Think of it like this:
- Google is stepping on Amazon’s toes.
- ChatGPT is stepping on Google’s.
- Everyone’s building a better, stickier walled garden.
And for marketers, this means figuring out how to earn visibility in an internet that’s moving beyond traditional clicks.
🎯 So What Should Marketers Do About Zero Click Search?
If Google zero click is the new normal, we need to adapt fast.
Here’s how:
- Optimize for visibility, not just traffic
If your content appears in an AI overview, featured snippet, or video carousel, that’s still a win, even if it doesn’t drive a click. - Use structured data (schema)
That Knowledge Panel? Those product cards? Reviews? They’re often pulled from well-structured data. Don’t skip it. - Own your entity
Google needs to understand who you are. That’s how you earn space in Knowledge Panels, People Also Ask, and AI-generated content. - Rethink your KPIs
In a zero-click world, impressions, visibility, and brand mentions are just as important as website visits.
Need help optimizing for this new kind of search experience?
Let’s chat about entity optimization and getting your brand into the AI-driven funnel. Book a call or check out our services.
💬 Walled Gardens Aren’t Evil—They’re Inevitable
The idea of a walled garden feels limiting at first. But for users it’s a dream: fast, personalized, and intuitive.
As marketers, we can’t stop the walls from rising. But we can make sure our brand is on the inside.
The next time someone asks you “what does walled garden mean for the internet?”—you’ll know the answer. It means rethinking search, redefining success, and building content that doesn’t just chase clicks, but earns trust.
Want to be part of that search future?
Make sure you’re showing up where the walls are highest—and most rewarding.
Watch: What Walled Gardens Really Mean for Search and Brand Visibility
In a recent chat with Jason Barnard, we explored how search engines, AI tools, and shopping platforms are transforming the open web into a series of tightly controlled—but beautifully optimized—walled gardens. We talked about zero-click search, how Google is blending user intent directly on the SERP, and why this matters more than ever if you want your brand to stay visible in an AI-first internet.
