Alphabet, the parent company of search giant Google, reported second-quarter earnings that outpaced analysts’ expectations and said its prodigious investment is creating visible results. This is expected to set the tone for the next phase of Silicon Valley’s AI race. Alphabet reported 14% revenue growth for the three months ending in June, including a 12% increase in search revenue and 32% in cloud computing. All comforting numbers for investors who might have feared that economic weakness or the impact of tariffs on advertisers could be weighing on growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AI Overviews, the algorithm-generated blurbs that often appear front and center when users ask questions, have not come to pass. Google says AI Overviews are driving 10% more queries in searches where they appear and haven’t dented revenue. Paid clicks were up 4% year on year, the company said in a call with analysts on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n