Google AI content under premium now? Search engine says it's 'not considering ad-free experience'

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Alphabet Inc. unit still hasn’t figured out how to incorporate the new, fast-growing technology without threatening its essential advertising business. The shares were down less than 1% in premarket trading Thursday.

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 one former Google employee, who worked on the company’s search products.