Google hasn’t figured out how to make AI pay like its search engine
TL;DR
Google Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler. | Bloomberg via Getty Images Search queries are growing at their fastest rate in five years, Google parent Alphabet said in its earnings report last week. However, Google's Search revenue growth slowed to 12 percent year over year in the third quarter, down from roughly 17 percent in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, growth in paid clicks - clicks on ads that generate revenue for Google - slowed from 13 percent to 8 percent.
Nauti's Take
Small teams should run one measurement before expanding an AI workflow: does AI-driven discovery produce more qualified demand, or merely add cost and complexity? Track search volume, click quality, and time to a usable result in one concrete process before committing more agent or API budget.
Google’s current figures establish rising usage; evidence for durable monetization is still missing.
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