Even though Google's peers are developing newer AI technologies to overtake its Search, CEO Sundar Pichai seems unfazed. The CEO believes that offering diverse sources and links, and not just direct answers from AI models, will remain a core differentiator for Google Search. In his recent interview with Bloomberg Originals host Emily Chang, the CEO seemed unaffected by the frenzy surrounding AI. His interview, days ahead of the Google I/O event, comes at a time when the tech industry is immersed in the AI frenzy. Throughout his interaction, Pichai maintained that when it came to AI this was just the beginning. The CEO also briefly reflected on his decade leading Google, how the company began its 'AI first' strategy years before its rivals. Considering the rapid developments in AI in the last two years, Google's search supremacy is evidently under threat. However, Pichai seems to be preparing to use generative AI across Google's services. "I think part of what makes Google Search a differentiator is that while there are times we give answers, it'll always link to a wide variety of sources. Now we've had answers in Search for many, many years. We are just now using generative AI to do that. So the links will live on," Pichai said. When asked about leading computer scientists saying that Google Search was getting worse with more SEO spam, and more, Pichai said, "Anytime there's a transition, you get an explosion of new content, and AI is going to do that." AI impact on business model The interviewer also asked if AI chatbots that would generate text responses and not links would impact Google's business model. Pichai responded by saying that people always want choices. "I think we've always been able to balance it. As we are rolling out AI or views in Search, we've been experimenting with ads, and the data we see shows that those fundamental principles will hold during this phase as well," he said, suggesting that Google's ad-based model can persist even with AI integrated into its search. When asked if LLM technology was nearing a plateau, Pichai said that he would be surprised if LLMs were the only thing we would need to make progress. He added that Google is investing a lot of computing and resources, and its AI research is driving the next generation of breakthroughs. Pichai acknowledged that Google may have missed a critical opportunity as ChatGPT emerged, radically changing the tech landscape much like the internet did. Microsoft capitalised on this by significantly investing in AI, seemingly overtaking Google. When asked about hindsight actions, the CEO emphasised a long-term view. He said that when the internet came into existence there was no search, noting that Google was the pioneer in search, email, and web browsers. The CEO in a way suggested that AI technology is still in its nascent stages.
