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# No dent in Google Search's revenue growth ... yet
- URL: https://ovidiususan.com/no-dent/
- Published: 2025-08-03T10:00:15.000Z
- Updated: 2026-04-09T16:39:33.000Z
- Author: Ovidiu Susan
- Tags: Alphabet (GOOG), Company Analysis

Alphabet's Q2 2025 earnings provided a temporary reprieve from fears that AI chatbots are disrupting Google Search. While the market may have been placated, the results obscure a significant underlying threat to the company's core business.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/13/c6/13c6eaae-0103-4d5b-b9a0-43bafa978821/content/images/2025/08/search.png)

The primary bear thesis against Alphabet is that Large Language Models (LLMs) will erode the dominance of Google Search. The logic is straightforward: as users receive direct answers from chatbots, traditional query volume will fall, diminishing advertising inventory and revenue. While Alphabet's recent financials do not yet reflect this outcome - with Search ad revenue growing in line with peers like Meta - this should be viewed as a lagging indicator.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/13/c6/13c6eaae-0103-4d5b-b9a0-43bafa978821/content/images/2025/08/ads_revenues.jpg)

Source: [appeconomyinsights.com](https://www.appeconomyinsights.com/?ref=ovidiususan.com)

The resilience of Google's ad revenue can be attributed to a single, critical factor: for now, [advertisers lack a viable, scaled alternative](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/advertisers-quit-google-despite-complaints-traffic-ads?ref=ovidiususan.com). This also means that, as soon as a viable alternative emerges, we could see a big and swift migration. ChatGPT already sends a significant volume of traffic to websites. As soon as they launch solid tools for advertisers, Google Search would be under immediate threat. Until then, Alphabet's management might be feeling a false sense of safety, thinking there is ample time to manage the transition to AI Overviews while retaining advertisers. Liz Reid, head of Google Search is out with an [opinion denying any drop in Search traffic](https://blog.google/products/search/ai-search-driving-more-queries-higher-quality-clicks/?ref=ovidiususan.com).

> "*... (our) data is in contrast to third-party reports that inaccurately suggest dramatic declines in aggregate traffic — often based on flawed methodologies, isolated examples, or traffic changes that occurred prior to the roll out of AI features in Search"*.

This statement creates a stark dichotomy. Either Alphabet's internal metrics genuinely show no user erosion, placing them at odds with widespread user testimony and third-party data, or the company is strategically emphasizing positive lagging indicators while downplaying negative leading ones.

The former seems improbable. The foundational user behavior is already shifting; the financial reckoning is merely delayed.