Google’s corporate parent still prospering amid shift injecting more AI technology in search

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Google's corporate parent Alphabet Inc. delivered another quarter of steady growth amid an AI-driven shift in the ubiquitous search engine that is the, foundation of its internet empire.

The second-quarter report released Tuesday indicated Google is still reeling in advertisers on the heels of the May introduction of an artificial intelligence feature that produces conversational responses to people's search queries while downplaying its traditional display of related links to other websites.

Although the change sparked fear and outrage among online publishers worried their traffic will plummet, Google is still thriving and propelling Alphabet's success.

Alphabet's revenue for the April-June period climbed 14% from the same time last year to $84.74 billion. The Mountain View, California, earned $23.62 billion, or $1.89 per share, a 29% increase from the same time last year. It marked fourth-consecutive quarter that Alphabet's year-over-year revenue growth has surpassed 10%, although the pace during the April-June period slowed slightly from the January-March span.

The performance for the most-recent quarter exceeded the analyst projections that steer investors, according to FactSet Research.

Alphabet's stock price rose slightly in extended trading after the report came out. The shares have surged by 30% so far this year, largely riding the excitement surrounding the money-making opportunities afforded by the rise of AI - a field that Google is trying to mine through its DeepMind division and Gemini technology.