Google SVP for Search Amit Singhal, a very powerful figure within the company and the man behind the shaping of Google Search for desktop, mobile and other platforms, is retiring at the end of the month.
Set to take over his position is John Giannandrea, the engineering VP of Google that leads the company's artificial intelligence initiatives.
In a letter that Singhal posted on his Google+ account, he explained that the decision for his retirement is philanthropy, as he is looking to give back to others after his 15 years of working in Google.
"Search has transformed people's lives; over a billion people rely on us," Singhal said regarding the service that he helped develop into what it is today. In addition, he also mentioned his love for the company, stating that Google believes in doing good.
Singhal then stated that Feb. 26 would be his last day in Google, but noted that the people that he has forged relationships with over his career are more than welcome to keep in touch with him.
While Singhal will surely be missed in Google, he is leaving Search in the capable hands of the senior leaders of the company and Giannandrea, with the AI chief's move to the lead position for Search signaling changes that could be coming to how the service operates.
AI is believed to be the technology that will lead to the biggest breakthroughs in the industry over the coming years, as its goal is to build systems which are able to understand their environments on their own and handle daily tasks without the need for human input.
With Giannandrea's appointment to lead Search, Google is set to further apply AI into the service to have it move away from the keyboard and search box and into a platform that is able to predict what users need in various situations.
Giannandrea came to Google through the company's acquisition of his startup Metaweb Technologies, which created a database of objects which became the basis of Knowledge Graph. Giannandrea has also worked on projects such as RankBrain, which adds machine-learning methods into Search, and a Gmail hack which utilizes AI to be able to automatically answer emails.
Such projects will be important in Google's efforts to make Search more proactive and to provide users with versatility in terms of input methods for the service.
