Google In Plans To Charge For Some Features In Its Search For the first time, Google is considering charging customers for new "premium" features in its search engine that are enabled by generative artificial intelligence.

For the first time, Google is considering charging customers for new "premium" features in its search engine that are enabled by generative artificial intelligence. This would mean that none of the company's essential products would be accessible through a paywall.

As per the claims, Google is investigating other alternatives, such as incorporating certain AI-driven search functionalities into its current premium membership plans. These plans already grant users access to the recently launched Gemini AI assistant in Gmail and Docs.

Nevertheless, one of the insiders tells the Financial Times that Google executives have not yet decided if or when to launch the service.

In a news release, Google stated, "We're not working on or considering an ad-free search experience." "As we have frequently done in the past, we will keep creating innovative, high-quality

This would be a big change for Google, which has always provided free user services that are fully supported by advertisements. More than half of the company's overall sales last year came from search and related ads, which brought in $175 billion.

Google began testing "Search Generative Experience" (SGE), an AI-powered search service, last year in response to the ChatGPT threat. SGE offers comprehensive answers to searches in addition to standard search results and advertisements. However, according to the source, Google has been reluctant to completely integrate these features into its main search engine due to the high computational costs of generative AI, which may be why Google is considering charging consumers for it.

According to insiders, Google's classic search engine will continue to be available for free, albeit with advertisements.