Expert on Google’s AI plans: they know what they’re doing

After Google announced a series of artificial intelligence (AI)-related updates during its annual I/O conference, an expert tells Cybernews it’s obvious the tech giant knows it now has to play catch-up to maintain its lead in online search.

On Tuesday, Google said it was launching a new “AI Mode” in its search engine and integrating its Gemini chatbot to offer users more advanced, conversational search experiences.

The company also unveiled plans for AI-powered glasses and a subscription AI tool as part of a broader push to stay competitive in the evolving AI landscape.

Indeed, it looks like Google wants to assert it has caught up to competitors after appearing flat-footed upon the release of Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT in 2022.

Investment in AI accounts for most of Alphabet's $75 billion in forecasted capital expenditures this year, a dramatic uptick from the $52.5 billion in 2024 spending that the company reported.

Eddy Cue, Apple’s services chief, already testified in court that he believed AI search engines would eventually replace standard search engines such as Google. Apple has plans to integrate ChatGPT into its products.

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, immediately lost $150 billion in market value in one day.

But now, Google is striking back. Amid all the talk about how AI tools will sink traditional search engines, the company seems to be saying: we’ll do both, and you’ll love it.

According to research by SOCi, a marketing platform, 19% of consumers already use AI tools to search for information, and 9% have used an AI tool in the last month to look up information about a local business.

“But Google knows this is the most important growth area in search, and although the hybrid interface known as AI Overviews had something of a bumpy rollout, most would admit that adding AI answers to Google's results was the most dramatic change in search in at least a decade,” Damian Rollison, SOCi’s senior director of market insights, told Cybernews.

With its new “AI Mode,” Google says it will provide the option to experience a completely overhauled search interface with AI at the center.

“Though early adopters of sites like Perplexity will already have experienced something very similar, Google's rollout of ‘AI Mode’ will be guaranteed to reach an audience that is greater by an order of magnitude,” said Rollison.

According to the expert, at minimum, the “AI Mode” will roll out alongside popular features like Google Images and Google News.

“But with Google's emphasis on new features for shopping, live interaction, and so on, the company is clearly betting that the new interface will serve as an alternative to – and perhaps a future vision for – its main search platform,” added Rollison.

Investment in AI accounts for most of Alphabet's $75 billion in forecasted capital expenditures this year, a dramatic uptick from the $52.5 billion in 2024 spending that the company reported.