If Google disappeared tomorrow, how would you get your first 1,000 users?

Lately I've been thinking about something that feels more realistic than ever.

What if Google disappeared tomorrow?

No Search. No SEO. No Google Ads. No YouTube recommendations. Nothing.

For years, "just rank on Google" has been the default growth strategy for so many startups. But now AI is changing how people discover things. More people are asking ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Perplexity instead of opening Google. Some don't even click links anymore—they just trust the AI's answer.

It makes me wonder...

If you were launching a brand-new product today, how would you get your first 1,000 users?

Would you focus on building a community? Create content every day? DM potential users? Launch on Product Hunt? Build in public? Partner with creators? Try to get AI tools to recommend your product? Or would you ignore all of that and do something completely different?

I don't think there's a single right answer anymore. It feels like we're entering a world where SEO, social media, AI, communities, and word of mouth all matter—but maybe in very different ways than they did even two years ago.

I'm genuinely curious because I'm building products myself, and lately I've been questioning whether founders spend too much time chasing Google rankings instead of building things people naturally talk about and recommend.

If Google disappeared tomorrow—and AI became the main way people found products—what would your growth strategy actually look like?

I'd love to hear real experiences, not just theory. If you've grown a product without relying on Google, what worked? If you were starting from zero today, where would you spend your time during the first 30 days?

Curious to hear how everyone is thinking about growth in this new AI-first era.