Google predicts the future: Go big on artificial intelligence

Google CEO Sundar Pichai touts the company's AI efforts. It's a given that the most important thing to Google -- the company/verb/website that's synonymous with finding things using the Internet -- is its search business. Now, as the company lays out its master plan for the future, Google is making sure that business is injected with a healthy dose of artificial intelligence. At least that's the big takeaway from Google's annual letter, published Thursday, and penned for the first time by CEO Sundar Pichai rather than Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Instead of users having to type words into a search box on a computer or phone, Google wants to fetch info and do stuff for you without you having to ask.