It’s been years since Google, the world’s dominant search engine, has felt genuine competition. As a result, its parent company, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG), has been a market-beating investment for the past two decades.
However, a formidable foe has possibly arrived. The surging popularity of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots like ChatGPT could threaten Alphabet’s gold mine.
These concerns were already affecting the stock, and the sell-off intensified after trade tensions ratcheted up fear and volatility across Wall Street. Alphabet sits nearly 25% off its highs today, one of its steepest declines in recent years.
Is the stock a buy? The decline could be an excellent opportunity for long-term investors, but only if the underlying business is intact. It’s time to dive into the data to determine where the rubber meets the road.
Here is what you need to know.
Search engine ad revenue is over half of Alphabet’s business. In that light, the idea of tough competition is a scary one. According to data analysis site Semrush, ChatGPT saw 5.19 billion visits in February 2025. Yet, it is way too soon for Alphabet shareholders to panic. Google saw 139.9 billion visits in February, so it remains far ahead of its challenger.
Internet users have Googled things for over two decades. That’s some serious brand power, and it won’t evaporate overnight. Now, suppose ChatGPT keeps growing and begins to eat into Google’s market share. It still might not hurt Alphabet’s business as much as you fear.
Americans take the internet for granted, but a third of the global population still isn’t online. Google processes over 5 trillion searches annually, more than double what it did in 2016, the last time it published this data. And global spending on digital ads is still growing at a high single-digit rate. More internet users and digital ad dollars could mean Google and ChatGPT can both thrive, and each one might not grow at the other’s expense.
Ad revenue from Google Search rose 12.5% year over year in Alphabet’s 2024 fourth quarter, so this seems plausible thus far. Investors shouldn’t worry so much until there is a clear, sustained downtrend in Google Search’s performance.
Long-term investors have the superpower to look ahead five or 10 years (or longer), and Alphabet’s business might look drastically different then. Google Cloud is the world’s third-leading cloud platform and Alphabet’s fastest-growing business unit. Revenue increased by more than 29% year over year in the 2024 fourth quarter, and the runway is long.
DJ Kamal Mustafa
I’m DJ Kamal Mustafa, the founder and Editor-in-Chief of EMEA Tribune, a digital news platform that focuses on critical stories from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Pakistan. With a deep passion for investigative journalism, I’ve built a reputation for delivering exclusive, thought-provoking reports that highlight the region’s most pressing issues.
I’ve been a journalist for over 10 years, and I’m currently associated with EMEA Tribune, ARY News, Daily Times, Samaa TV, Minute Mirror, and many other media outlets. Throughout my career, I’ve remained committed to uncovering the truth and providing valuable insights that inform and engage the public.
