Google CEO Predicts Profound Changes to Search by 2025

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Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently shared his vision for the future of search during an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times DealBook Summit. Pichai emphasized that the tech industry is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), and positioned Google as a leader at the forefront of this evolution.

While discussing Google’s competitive standing, Pichai highlighted that many of the foundational breakthroughs in AI, such as transformers, originated from Google’s research and have shaped the industry as we know it today. He underscored Google’s pioneering efforts in AI innovation, including tools like BERT, MUM, and multimodal search, which have significantly improved search quality and understanding of complex queries.

However, Pichai also faced challenges articulating Google’s commitment to supporting content creators. Critics have raised concerns about the impact of Google’s AI-driven features on the broader web ecosystem, particularly for publishers and individual creators. Pichai acknowledged these challenges but pointed to initiatives like YouTube’s Content ID as examples of Google’s efforts to balance innovation with fair compensation for creators.

Looking ahead, Pichai predicted that search in 2025 would see a transformation unlike anything before, enabling users to solve increasingly complex problems. He also noted that the journey ahead would demand significant breakthroughs, as many of the simpler innovations have already been achieved.

As AI continues to reshape the digital landscape, Google’s search evolution promises to redefine how users access and trust information.

Pichai answered:

“Look, it’s a such a dynamic moment in the industry. When I look at what’s coming ahead, we are in the earliest stages of a profound shift. We have taken such a deep full stack approach to AI.

…we do world class research. We are the most cited, when you look at gen AI, the most cited… institution in the world, foundational research, we build AI infrastructure and when I’m saying AI infrastructure all the way from silicon, we are in our sixth generation of tensor processing units. You mentioned our product reach, we have 15 products at half a billion users, we are building foundational models, and we use it internally, we provide it to over three million developers and it’s a deep full stack investment.

We are getting ready for our next generation of models, I just think there’s so much innovation ahead, we are committed to being at the state of the art in this field and I think we are. Just coming today, we announced groundbreaking research on a text and image prompt creating a 3D scene. And so the frontier is moving pretty fast, so looking forward to 2025.”

The Blue Link Economy and AI in Google’s Strategy

During his interview at the New York Times DealBook Summit, Google CEO Sundar Pichai addressed questions about Google’s approach to AI and its impact on the “blue link economy”—the traditional search model where users click on links to visit external websites.

The interviewer pointed out that while Google initially led in AI innovation, companies like OpenAI have since gained significant momentum, raising questions about whether Google’s strategy of protecting its lucrative “blue link” advertising business has slowed its AI advancements. This economy, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, has been pivotal to Google’s business model.

Pichai responded by emphasizing Google’s deep and long-standing investment in AI, stating that many of the company’s breakthroughs, including BERT, MUM, and multimodal search, have been aimed at improving search quality. He highlighted that AI has been integral to Google’s operations since 2012, when it first applied deep neural networks for image and speech recognition.

Key milestones in Google’s AI journey include:

2014: Introduction of sequence-to-sequence learning to better understand text strings.

2015: Deployment of RankBrain, an AI-powered system for ranking search results.

2019 Onward: Integration of advanced AI systems like BERT (for understanding language context) and MUM (Multitask Unified Model), enhancing search capabilities by addressing complex queries.

Pichai underlined that AI innovations were never sidelined to preserve the “blue link economy.” Instead, they have been pivotal to Google’s ongoing improvements, enabling it to maintain leadership in delivering relevant and high-quality search experiences.

The conversation highlighted the balance Google must strike between leading technological innovation and preserving its core business model amidst rising competition in the AI space.

Pichai  answered:

“The area where we applied AI the most aggressively, if anything in the company was in search, the gaps in search quality was all based on Transformers internally. We call it BERT and MUM and you know, we made search multimodal, the search quality improvements, we were improving the language understanding of search. That’s why we built Transformers in the company.

So and if you look at the last couple of years, we have with AI overviews, Gemini is being used by over a billion users in search alone.”

Profound Changes Ahead for Google Search in 2025

During the New York Times DealBook Summit, Google CEO Sundar Pichai elaborated on the transformative changes expected for Google Search in 2025, particularly early in the year. He emphasized that the nature of innovation within Search will evolve, as the easier advancements—the “low-hanging fruit”—have already been implemented.

Pichai acknowledged the increasing challenges that come with pushing the boundaries of search technology. While tools like AI-driven algorithms (e.g., BERT and MUM) have significantly enhanced the search experience, the next stage of innovation demands tackling more complex and nuanced problems.

This profound shift in Search is tied to Google’s broader vision of integrating advanced AI systems that not only respond to queries but also predict and adapt to users’ needs in real-time, redefining the relationship between users and search platforms.

He said:

“And I just feel like we are getting started. Search itself will continue to change profoundly in 2025. I think we are going to be able to tackle more complex questions than ever before. You know, I think we’ll be surprised even early in 2025, the kind of newer things search can do compared to where it is today… “

Pichai also said that progress wouldn’t be easy:

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“I think the progress is going to get harder when I look at 2025, the low hanging fruit is gone.

But I think where the breakthroughs need to come from where the differentiation needs to come from is is your ability to achieve technical breakthroughs, algorithmic breakthroughs, how do you make the systems work, you know, from a planning standpoint or from a reasoning standpoint, how do you make these systems better? Those are the technical breakthroughs ahead.”

Is Search Losing Its Relevance?

In response to concerns about Google’s search dominance being threatened by the rise of AI platforms and other non-search tools, Sundar Pichai shared a compelling perspective. The interviewer referenced an author’s claim that Google’s core business is under siege, with search losing value as users turn to AI-generated answers and a growing portion of online content becomes inauthentic and machine-created.

Pichai countered by asserting that the evolution of the Internet, particularly with an influx of AI-generated content, makes the role of Search even more crucial. He emphasized that Google Search is designed to sift through vast amounts of information, identify reliable sources, and deliver authentic and valuable results.

Rather than being undermined by AI, Pichai suggested that Google is leveraging its AI expertise to improve Search’s ability to discern and prioritize high-quality, trustworthy content in an increasingly complex digital landscape. This capability, he argued, positions Search as a vital tool in combating the challenges posed by inauthentic or misleading content.

Pichai answered:

“In a world in which you’re flooded with like lot of content …if anything, something like search becomes more valuable. In a world in which you’re inundated with content, you’re trying to find trustworthy content, content that makes sense to you in a way reliably you can use it, I think it becomes more valuable.

To your previous part about there’s a lot of information out there, people are getting it in many different ways. Look, information is the essence of humanity. We’ve been on a curve on information… when Facebook came around, people had an entirely new way of getting information, YouTube, Facebook, Tik… I can keep going on and on.

…I think the problem with a lot of those constructs is they are zero sum in their inherent outlook. They just feel like people are consuming information in a certain limited way and people are all dividing that up. But that’s not the reality of what people are doing. “

Pichai Stumbles on Content Valuation Question

The interviewer pressed Sundar Pichai with a pointed question about whether Google’s approach devalues content created by individuals. He presented a scenario involving an author who meticulously researches a topic by reading multiple books, citing those sources in a bibliography, and then publishing a work. The implication was clear: Google, by ingesting all this content, processes it into instantaneous responses, effectively bypassing the human labor involved in creating it.

Pichai appeared to struggle with this critique, emphasizing Google’s efforts to balance the ecosystem and hinting at initiatives to support content creators. However, his response was perceived as vague, leaving room for interpretation about how Google plans to ensure fair treatment and recognition for creators in a world increasingly dominated by AI-driven content aggregation and delivery.

This exchange highlights a growing concern about the tension between innovation in AI and the sustainability of creative industries reliant on traditional modes of intellectual labor and attribution.

Andrew Ross Sorkin said:

“You get to spit it out a million times. A million times a day. And I just wonder what the economics of that should be for the folks that create it in the beginning.”

Sundar Pichai defended Google’s approach by highlighting the company’s commitment to supporting the ecosystem of publishers. He pointed to the significant traffic Google sends to these publishers, underscoring the company’s ongoing consideration of their impact on this ecosystem.

However, the interviewer did not address a prominent critique: the prevalence of Reddit-based results, an overabundance of advertising in search results, and the decreasing prioritization of expert-created content. Additionally, the de-emphasis on news content in Google’s ranking systems has reportedly harmed traffic to news organizations globally.

Pichai appeared to falter when addressing these broader issues. His response remained abstract, avoiding references to specific websites or content types. As his answer dwindled, he shifted focus to discussing how Google compensates copyright holders through initiatives like YouTube’s Content ID program, sidestepping the core issue of search result quality and fairness to content creators.

This moment in the interview underscored the challenges Google faces in balancing innovation, profitability, and its responsibilities to the broader content ecosystem.

He answered:

“Look I… uh… It’s a… very important question… uhm… look I… I… think… I think more than any other company… look you know… we for a long time through… you know… be it in search making sure… while it’s often debated, we spend a lot of time thinking about the traffic we send to the ecosystem.

Even through the moment through the transition over the past couple of years. It’s an important priority for us.”

During the discussion, Sundar Pichai pivoted to Google’s content platform, YouTube, emphasizing the role of the Content ID program. This system, he explained, identifies copyright-protected material uploaded to YouTube, allowing rights holders to manage how their content is used.

Pichai noted that Content ID primarily benefits corporate entities in the music, film, and television industries. These copyright owners often have extensive libraries of original content that are frequently uploaded by users. Through Content ID, rights holders can choose to block, track, or monetize unauthorized uses of their material, reinforcing YouTube’s commitment to protecting intellectual property and fostering partnerships with major content creators.

This shift in the conversation, however, highlighted a broader focus on corporate stakeholders, leaving questions about support for smaller creators and independent publishers unanswered.

Pichai continued:

“In YouTube we put a lot of effort into understanding and you know identifying content and with content ID and uh creating monetization for creators.

I think… I think those are important principles, right. I think um… there’s always going to be a balance between understanding what is fair use uh… when new technology comes versus how do you… give value back proportionate to the value of the IP, the hard work people have put in.”

Key Takeaways from Sundar Pichai’s Candid Interview on Google’s Future

The interview with Alphabet’s CEO Sundar Pichai was insightful, with the interviewer posing some challenging questions. However, many in the search marketing community might have wished for deeper follow-ups on some critical issues, particularly regarding content creators who aren’t on Google’s YouTube platform. These creators, who contribute valuable content on other platforms, could potentially be overshadowed by Google’s algorithmic changes. The growing presence of non-expert content in search results is another major concern. This content often pushes down more authoritative, expert-driven information, affecting the quality of search results.

While Pichai spoke about Google’s broader ecosystem and efforts to protect copyright on platforms like YouTube, there was little focus on how non-YouTube creators or niche, expert content are being treated in Google’s search results. A follow-up question on how Google plans to balance these various types of content—ensuring that experts still get the visibility they deserve—could have provided valuable insights into Google’s future search strategies.

Watch the New York Times Interview here:

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