“Google isn’t about blue links. It’s about organizing the world’s information,” according to former Google executive chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt, speaking on CNBC today.
Schmidt was asked about the “blue link economy” and all the brands and businesses that have benefited from Google Search. But Google is changing. In the new world, AI will provide answers, not a list of websites for people to click through and find the answer for themselves.
Why we care Although Schmidt no longer holds a leadership role at Google, he knows better than most what Google will look like in the coming years. Meanwhile, current Google CEO Sundar Pichai has signaled that search as we know it will change substantially over the next decade, including most recently when he said it’s evolving into the generative search experience.
AI and advertising. Schmidt believes Google will be able to monetize AI responses and AI will improve advertising:
“What better tool than the advent of AI to do better? Do you think you can monetize that? You’re betting. A lot of the early work I did when I was there was using the early versions of advertising AI to do more effective advertising. Unless you think advertising is going away, which I don’t, AI is making it more powerful, not less powerful.”
The underrated AI. It should also be noted that the arrival of a non-human form of intelligence is almost here. Schmidt believes that artificial intelligence is actually “underrated”:
“Come on, it’s here, it’s about to happen. It goes through stages. …We used to say 20 years. Now within five,” Schmidt said.
The interview You can watch the entire interview here.
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About the author
Danny Goodwin has been the editor-in-chief of Search Engine Land & Search Marketing Expo – SMX since 2022. He joined Search Engine Land in 2022 as a senior editor. In addition to reporting on the latest search marketing news, he manages Search Engine Land’s Subject Matter Expert (SME) program. Also helps schedule US SMX events.
Goodwin has been editing and writing about the latest developments and trends in search and digital marketing since 2007. He was previously executive editor of Search Engine Journal (2017-2022), editor-in-chief of Momentology (2014-2016), and editor from Search. Engine Watch (from 2007 to 2014). He has spoken at numerous major search conferences and virtual events, and has brought his expertise to bear in a wide range of publications and podcasts.
