So, Google just delivered its first-ever $100 B quarter - AI is no longer an R&D story, it’s now a profit engine driving Search, YouTube, and Cloud together.

That 16% YoY revenue surge ($102.3 B) with Search +15%, YouTube +16%, and Cloud +34% shows Google’s entire stack is now monetizing AI ; from Overviews and AI Mode in Search to generative infrastructure in Cloud. The $155 B Cloud backlog and 300 M paid subs (mostly Google One and YouTube Premium) mean they’re morphing from ad-only to subscription + enterprise AI at scale.

The real story though is strategic: with the Chrome antitrust ruling behind them, Google keeps its data moat intact. It can fund AI expansion internally while using Search as the front door to its ecosystem — not just to the open web.

For the rest of us, that raises the question:
If Google’s AI layer becomes the main user interface, are we entering the post-SEO era where web visibility is more about being “cited” in AI outputs than “ranked” in Search?

All on the backs of everyone in this forum (and many others).

By a company that never created a product or service.

...

Has anyone ascertained from which regions this ad "growth" has come?

Is it a general increase worldwide or is it specific regions such as the West desperately trying to bolster flagging sales since they are mostly flat / in recession?

Do the non-West countries,/ areas, such as Brics, show proportionate income or is G mostly reliant on West income?

Bearing in mind the Brics countries now account for 56% of global population and 44% of GDP, does G have any significant penetration in those areas?

@RedBar, yes, Google is getting more and more popular outside of the US, same with the likes of Netflix, they are making a lot of money, some unreported. Even major sports league like the NFL have seperate companies(partners) that operate streaming services internationally that charge and operate way different than the US version but they are making extra billions and there is no sign of slowing down.

So Google has the right plan, they also hold the most data in the world thanks to Android/Chrome/Search so they SHOULD be dominating. I am not surprised.

But, guys, they will still need new content as time goes, and Google themselves have been blogging a lot the past 6 months on their official blog and youtube to promote their AI services especially.

So creating new content is still going to be valuable(not as much now but there will be a point where new info will be needed), you just have to be very fast at releasing your new content which will all be used as data to train these LLMs which aren't going anywhere anytime soon, regardless of what you do or don't do.

you just have to be very fast at releasing your new content which will all be used as data to train these LLMs

Why would I bother with producing content for LLMs? They don't pay me.

All on the backs of everyone in this forum (and many others).

Don't forget the advertisers. They are also getting totally scammed by rigged ad market.

G and co (Alphabet) seem to be doing everything they can to squeeze every penny out of their products to the extent some of them are close to useless. Take YouTube as an example. I actually tested this. I played a YouTube video and let auto-play do its thing and play the next video etc. I noted the time when I started and let it run for a couple of hours. I had my stopwatch running on my phone and every time there was an ad I would start then stop when the video resumed. 21% of what I watched was adverts. I actually find it difficult to consume YouTube content because of him invasive the adverts are.

Then we have AdSense. Just turn on autoads and witness your sites become a shambles. Autoads does exactly what best practices tell us to avoid.

It's almost as if Alphabet knows they are in a decline, perhaps a terminal decline, and is grabbing as much cash as possible. This quarter they did phenomenal, but I don't think that will be sustainable. Their AI offering is not on par with the competition, and they MUST be losing a LOT of users to ChatGPT.

Mack.

The money must be coming from somewhere. SEO is being squeezed. Ultimately suppliers and consumers are being squeezed to pay for advertising in replacement.

Booking Holdings announced Tuesday that it took a $457 million accounting writedown on its Kayak brand because of an expected reduction in cash flows and hikes in customer acquisition costs.

[finance.yahoo.com...]

The money must be coming from somewhere.

My widget industry does not advertise on this type of media, it simply does not work and, yes, I have tried it, Joe Public loved it, the trade never saw it.

My specialised trade exhibtions are still the best new generator after 55+ years of doing them.

With so much content theft, ads cluttering nearly every corner of the internet, relentless pop-ups and Google ad spam following you everywhere — not to mention the overwhelming volume of ads on YouTube — I’m actually surprised the figure is only $100B. Google has effectively raped the web and continues to do so with little accountability.

Kayak and Trivago show what happens when the “middle layer” gets crushed. Google’s AI and ad units take the top, brands fight for scraps, and affiliates bleed out in between.

It’s no longer just about ranking; it’s about who can afford to stay visible. The squeeze has moved from visibility to pricing itself.

If discovery is now pay-to-play, how long before even brand loyalty becomes another auction?

While this is pretty common (Binghoo...) it does smell of desperation from google:
[seroundtable.com...]

Over that last couple of years I've made a point to contact advertisers when I clicked on an ad "unintentionally" to let them know it was happening, probably futile but I know I would like to know. That started with yahoo mail's CLS shenanigans, they were/are amazing at moving that ad right under your click on the first email message exactly when you click...

This will signal a renewed push to extract more next quarter. With profits expected to improve quarter on quarter, further tightening is guaranteed until there is nothing left to squeeze and Google is all that remains of the open web.

...and every time there was an ad I would start then stop when the video resumed. 21% of what I watched was adverts. I actually find it difficult to consume YouTube content because of him invasive the adverts are.

Little wonder that ad blockers remain popular (and useful!). If the ads were reasonable there'd be no need, but alas, these ads are UNreasonable.

Once upon a time TripAdvisor dominated the travel related SERPs with its review content. This sounds to me like the middle layer is being squeezed for them too. I expect others in various verticals to make similar announcements.

manage headwinds in our legacy offerings

[phocuswire.com...]

Interesting how much AI pushed this growth. A $100B quarter felt unrealistic a few years ago, but Google Cloud and the AI wave clearly accelerated everything. I’m curious whether this pace will hold next year.