Google is reportedly looking to create a new premium subscription service for some of its core products, including artificial intelligence-powered search features.
Dubbed the company's "biggest shake-up," this could become the first time the tech giant has charged its customers for its services.
First reported by the Financial Times, Google is considering including specific AI-powered search functionalities in its premium membership services. These now grant users access to Gemini, the company's new AI assistant, and Google's take on the popular chatbot ChatGPT.
(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) A sign is posted in front of a building on the Google campus on January 31, 2022, in Mountain View, California.
Although the report stated that engineers were building the know-how required to launch the service, executives are allegedly still undecided about whether to proceed with the subscription service.
Google's standard search engine would continue to be available for free, but members would also continue to see advertisements next to the material they were searching for.
Google faces a dilemma in embracing the most recent AI advancements while maintaining its largest source of revenue since search and related ads generated $175 billion in revenue last year, accounting for over half of the company's total revenues.
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Google SGE Availability
In May of last year, Google started testing a test version of an AI-powered search service that provided more thorough results to users, along with connections to further content and advertisements. Its main search engine has not gotten any of the features from what it refers to as its "Search Generative Experience" (SGE) trial very quickly, though.
Some consumers were unaware that Google's SGE was accessible during searches until last week. Although the SGE is publicly accessible for individuals who sign up and was made available through Google Search Labs, it was the first time that it has been offered without charge to people who chose not to sign up.
According to the story from last week, Google has acknowledged that the SGE is available to a limited portion of search traffic in the US but is only now making it available to users in the country. It also covers users who visit the platform's search while not logged into their Google accounts.
Google's AI Woes
Google's AI has been leading the company's technological advancements since 2023, delivering noteworthy user experiences across its entire infrastructure. Integrating AI into Search is one of Google's primary goals. The business believes that the power of AI will improve a lot of this experience, starting with the AI advertisements that are available on the platform.
Some analysts have cautioned, however, that if Google's search engine offered more comprehensive AI-generated results and eliminated the need for visitors to click through to its advertisers' websites, Google's advertising revenue may suffer.
Furthermore, a lot of online publishers that rely on Google for internet traffic worry that if Google's AI-powered search pulls information straight from their web pages and displays it to consumers, fewer people would visit their websites.
This year, Google One, its consumer subscription service, offered a new premium tier for anyone who wished to use its most sophisticated chatbot, Gemini. Additionally, Workspace, a collection of online productivity tools that includes Gmail and Docs, now includes Gemini.
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(Photo: Tech Times)
