Search Engine breaks records, boasts Google CEO. Subscriber count also growing

When Google started extensively deploying artificial intelligence into its search engine about a year ago, many website operators believed it was the beginning of the end for classic search as we know it. From Google’s perspective, the reality is different. The head of parent company Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, announced on Wednesday, during the release of financial results, that the number of queries in Search in the first quarter of this year reached an all-time high.

Search Engine is growing, AI reportedly helps it

Pichai stated that search had a strong quarter and Search division revenues grew by 19% year-over-year. According to the Alphabet CEO, this growth is supported by the integration of AI features, such as overviews or the Gemini assistant. Alphabet’s total consolidated revenues reached 109.9 billion dollars, representing a 22% year-over-year increase. Google Cloud even recorded a 63% growth to 20 billion dollars.

350 Million Paying Subscribers

In addition to search, Pichai also boasted about numbers from the paid subscriptions sector. In total, Google now has over 350 million paying subscribers across its services, with YouTube and Google One identified as key growth drivers. The latter service also includes the premium plan Google AI Pro (formerly Gemini Advanced), which offers access to more advanced AI models. According to Pichai, Q1 2026 was the strongest quarter yet for consumer AI plans.

Search Engine breaks records, boasts Google CEO. Subscriber count also growing Adam Kurfürst News Adam Kurfürst News

The question remains to what extent AI truly drives up the number of queries and how many of them then lead to classic blue links. For website operators, clicks from search results are crucial, and AI summaries have been reducing these in the long term.

Do you still use Google Search for finding information, or have you switched to chatbots?

Sources: The Verge, Alphabet