Why AI-curated directories can compete with Google AI Overviews: A 6-month bet
By
MORINAGA
Summary
The article presents a contrarian bet on building AI-curated directory websites (Top AI Tools, Find Games Like, Open Alternative To) despite Google's AI Overviews offering similar functionality. The author acknowledges the obvious counterargument that Google already does this, but lays out a falsifiable 6-month bet on why curated directories can still win — through deeper curation, independence from Google's ecosystem, and a focused niche approach. The sites launched on 2026-04-23 with minimal traffic and a $25/month architecture.
Source
bskyWhy AI-curated directories can compete with Google AI Overviews: A 6-month betdev.toKey quotes
· 4 pulledThe obvious counterargument to everything I'm building is this: Google already does it.
You type 'best AI tools for video editing' into Google and an AI Overview surfaces a curated list, synthesized from the same kind of data I maintain, without requiring a click.
My three directory sites — Top AI Tools, Find Games Like, and Open Alternative To — are competing with a feature baked into the world's dominant search engine.
Traffic is essentially zero — the sites have been indexed for th
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