Google may charge for AI search features
To visit the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal during the famous Gunla festival is to get a glimpse into India’s lost Buddhist past, and to experience the vibrant culture of the Newars
Google is considering charging for new “premium” features run by artificial intelligence (AI), the Financial Times reported, marking the first time it would put any of its core product behind a paywall.
The tech giant is mulling options such as adding certain AI search features to its premium subscription services, FT reported, citing three unnamed persons. Engineers are developing the technology to roll out the service but executives haven’t decided whether or when to launch it. Google’s ubiquitous search engine would continue to be free and ads would appear alongside search results even to subscribers, the FT said.
“We’re continuing to rapidly improve the product to serve new user needs,” a spokesperson said. “We’re not working on or considering an ad-free search experience. As we’ve done many times before, we’ll continue to build new premium capabilities and services to enhance our subscription offerings across Google.”
The potential move suggests the Alphabet Inc. unit still hasn’t figured out how to incorporate the new, fast-growing technology without threatening its essential advertising business. The shares slid less than 1% in extended trading after the news was reported.
Ever since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in late 2022, Google has found itself on the defensive in the face of the wildly popular chatbot. ChatGPT’s ability to give answers to queries in a narrative voice has forced Google to rethink its traditional list of blue links to websites and the lucrative ads that appear alongside them.
Meanwhile, in recent years, a new crop of search startups has emerged. Some have tried to persuade users to sign up for paid subscriptions to access generative AI search features, or for better privacy protections.
Last year, Google began testing its own AI-powered search service that combines the personalized, detailed narrative in addition to links to websites and advertising. But it has been slow to incorporate features from its experimental “search generative experience” to the main search engine. In February, Google added a new paid tier to its consumer subscription service that gives people access to its latest AI model, Gemini. Users who pay for that subscription, called Google One AI Premium, are able to use its advanced Gemini chatbot and access the generative AI model in popular services such as Gmail and Google Docs.
Using generative AI technology to power search queries is “eye-wateringly” expensive, said a former Google employee, who worked on the company’s search products.
THINK: The fuss about fonts—how serif or sans serif shifts your style
TASTE: Cask- aged beers join the bar
BOOKS: What it takes to be a ‘supercommunicator’
PAUSE: The secrets of Bandra’s trees