And in the end, the platform wins.
By rewarding 3 scientists from Google, the Nobel institution gave a nice publicity boost to the Mountain View company, which is much better equipped to conquer artificial intelligence than the general public may think.
For this 97th episode of the Déclick podcast, Jérémy Lacoste invites you to settle a debate that has been driving us for two years: why Google is going to take leadership in AI in search. Despite the failures, the hiccups and the criticisms.
1 – Google, a key player in AI
The Nobel Prizes for Physics and Chemistry served as a reminder that Google is not only a challenger to OpenAI, but is one of the pioneers with DeepMind and its Transformer. A model dating from 2017 which is at the origin of the LLMs well known today, including ChatGPT.
???? A key asset: its search engine
Its search engine is a huge competitive advantage. Where others must increase partnerships, Google relies on a well-established infrastructure and an integrated ecosystem, ranging from terminals to OS, to the cloud.
???? Massive investments
With considerable equity, Google can afford to recruit the best talent. Latest example: Noam Shazeer, AI figure, returns Google for $2.7 billion (via the buyout of his company Character.ai created following the refusal of his employer at the time to release a chatbot on which he had worked. An employer named… Google!)
???? Network effects
Although Google has experienced some delays and adjustments in general public uses, it remains the player best placed to become a leader in generative AI in search, thanks to uses and network effects.
2 – The evolution of AI-boosted SERPS
Since the arrival of mainstream AI, Google has been adjusting its SERPs with tools like Gemini and AI Overviews. Even if the results are still in the testing phase, we are observing developments, such as the appearance of “position 0” responses and “cards” above the fold.
???? New data sources
Google aggregates a plethora of data such as indexed sites, its Knowledge Graph, publishers and UGC content. Today, AI Overviews seems mainly focused on informational queries, impacting publishers’ revenues.
???? AI Ads
At the beginning of October, Google began integrating paid ads into AI responses, bringing a new dimension to online search.
3 – In Google Ads
Google has been using AI since 2010, first with smart bidding strategies on its advertising platform, providing marketers with automation and recommendations tools based on big data.
Google Ads has quickly integrated generative AI, with features like Product Studio to help e-retailers create visuals, the automatic generation of creative assets, or even the launch of campaigns via prompts in certain countries.
The episode can be listened to on your favorite podcast platform.
