Summary
- Google may start charging for AI-powered search features, making them part of its premium Google One subscription.
- The company would reportedly still show ads in Search even when users pay for generative AI search features.
- Google currently says that it has nothing to announce, but it’s always possible we will learn more at Google I/O in May.
Google’s core product, Search, has always been free to use. That much remained true when the company started adding AI-generated content to its search engine, with fully fleshed out answers showing up on the fly whether you want them or not. It looks like the company is now considering charging users for this feature, all while leaving the rest of the search experience untouched, ads and all.
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According to a report from the Financial Times, Google is working on “adding certain AI-powered search features to its premium subscription services.” This could mean that either part or all of the Search Generative Experience (SGE) could be paywalled. Given the wording, it would most likely become part of the existing Google One package, which already entails an AI subscription for access to Gemini Advanced and AI features within Workspace. The Financial Times cites three people familiar with the matter for these details.
It’s also possible that Google will only make some advanced SGE features paid, like image generation or follow-up questions. In any case, advertisements would reportedly still be shown even when using the paid AI plan for search, making clear that Google specifically sees value in the AI features more than a premium ad-free experience. The reasoning behind this potential move is unclear, but it’s possible that Google is looking for a straightforward way to pay for the expensive generative AI tech, which requires significantly more processing power and energy than a regular search.
Google has been scrambling to find an answer to OpenAI for a long time now
SGE offers advanced features like image generation and follow-up questions
Ever since the rise of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google has been scrambling to find a clear answer. The company has been working on its generative AI offerings for a long time but was still caught off guard by OpenAI’s overnight success with its product. After a chaotic 2023 full of different experiments like Bard, it seems like the company is slowly but surely finding a path forward for its AI strategy.
While Google currently states that it doesn’t have anything to announce, it’s possible that the company is holding off from public statements on the future of its core product until Google I/O, its annual developer conference that takes place on May 14, 2024. At the big show, we’re also expecting Google to tell us more about Android 15 and everything else it has planned for its AI efforts going forward.
