Google Prepares for a Future Where Search Isn't King

He wakes up every morning and reads Techmeme, a news aggregator resplendent with links, accessible only via the web. The web is dynamic and resilient, he says, and can still--with help from a search engine--provide whatever information a person is looking for. Yet the web and its critical search layer are changing. We can all see it happening: Social media apps, short-form video, and generative AI are challenging our outdated ideals of what it means to find information online. But he has more power than most to steer it.