When Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) Sundar Pichai says "search is evolving," it's not just a product update — it's a strategy shift.
Responding to analysts at the third quarter earnings call, the Alphabet CEO hinted that AI-driven search could soon become as transformative as Google's "universal search" rollout nearly two decades ago.
- Track GOOG stock here.
"Between AI overviews and AI mode, we're meeting users in the moment," Pichai said, adding that Google may soon "bring it all together" in a unified experience.
This sounds like the beginning of Google's second universal search — powered by Gemini.
Read Also: Meta, Microsoft, Google Are Spending Like It’s 2021
AI Becomes The Core Product, Not The Add-On
Alphabet's record $102.3 billion in quarterly revenue and 16% year-over-year growth were powered by AI — both in ads and in the cloud. But beneath the headline numbers, Pichai's remarks reveal where the next wave of growth is: reimagining search itself.
AI Overviews are now reaching over two billion users, and Google's new AI Mode — essentially conversational search powered by Gemini — already has 75 million daily users in the U.S.
That's not experimental scale; it's mainstream adoption. And despite fears that AI would cannibalize search monetization, Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler said ad performance in AI formats remains "approximately the same rate" as traditional search — giving Alphabet the green light to keep pushing deeper.
Gemini's Integration Is Google's Next Growth Engine
Pichai said the company is treating Gemini as "a more personal, proactive, powerful AI assistant" — hinting at a coming fusion between Google Search, Gemini and even Waymo. It's all part of Google's push to own every step of the user journey — from query to transaction to mobility.
If that sounds like a new kind of ecosystem, that's because it is. And investors are starting to price it in: Google Cloud's backlog is now at record highs, while the company continues to sign $1 billion-plus AI infrastructure deals at a faster clip than ever before.
Why It Matters
Pichai's message was clear: Google's next evolution isn't a product — it's a platform rewrite. Just as "universal search" defined the 2000s, "AI search" may define the 2030s.
And this time, Google's not chasing the trend — it's building the infrastructure behind it.
Read Next:
Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.
