Wasn’t ChatGPT meant to spell doom for Google’s search empire? Well, maybe not doom, but talk of disruption has done the rounds for some time. In 2023, Alphabet shares briefly slumped after Google’s AI chatbot gave wrong answers in a promotional video.
The same happened in 2024 when Google’s Gemini produced historical inaccuracies, including images of racially diverse Nazis.
Analysts warned Google was “trailing” and “mis-executing” in AI, and sentiment swung from alarm to excitement almost weekly.
Just last week, shares dipped following the release of OpenAI’s Atlas browser, but we’re now back in the excitement phase, with Alphabet’s latest results – and its first $100 billion quarter – showing previous panics were premature.
AI integration has boosted Google search, which generated $56.6 billion in revenue. Google Cloud revenues soared 34 per cent, supported by Gemini and a $155 billion backlog.
Major AI developers – OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic – are adopting its infrastructure. End result: Alphabet is now worth $3.5 trillion. Shares are up more than 50 per cent in 2025 and have more than tripled since ChatGPT’s November 2022 launch.
Not bad for a company that was supposed to have missed the AI future.
