Search Is Up, Gemini Is Surging — Google’s AI Strategy Starts to Pay Off

Google’s AI ecosystem is expanding across products and user bases. The company’s Gemini app now reports over 450 million monthly active users, up from 350 million in March. Daily prompts to Gemini increased by more than 50% quarter over quarter, according to CEO Sundar Pichai.

AI Overviews in Google Search are driving 10% more global queries for results where the feature appears. The boost is strongest among younger users, a segment where traditional search formats had been losing traction.

Last month, Google processed nearly a quadrillion AI tokens across its platforms—double the number it handled in May.

Pichai says Google’s internal talent metrics remain strong despite ongoing poaching efforts from rivals. DeepMind has seen notable defections, but company leadership appears unfazed. Google recently absorbed the core engineering team of AI startup Windsurf, highlighting its continued pull in the AI labor market.

Meta has appointed Shengjia Zhao—co-creator of ChatGPT and GPT-4—as chief AI scientist for its new Superintelligence lab. Microsoft, meanwhile, added ex-Gemini VP Amar Subramanya to Mustafa Suleyman’s AI division. Both firms are in active competition with Google for top AI talent.

Demis Hassabis, CEO of DeepMind, maintains that Google is still at the frontier of AI research. He called Meta’s current position a catch-up play and described the company’s approach as “rational,” given the stakes.

Despite regulatory headwinds and concerns about diminishing web traffic due to AI-generated answers, Google’s core products are growing. Gemini adoption, AI-assisted search, and a deep bench of research talent have positioned the company for continued dominance in the current AI cycle.

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