Sky News reports that Google is considering charging users for “premium” internet search results powered by artificial intelligence (AI), according to a report.
The tech giant is said to be exploring several ideas about how to use the technology, including incorporating enhanced search tools as part of its premium subscription services.
Google already charges for some features such as extra storage space and its “AI Premium” service, which provides access to its new Gemini AI assistant in Gmail and Docs.
But this would mark the first time that any of the company’s core products would be put behind a paywall. The FT said it had been informed of the proposals by three sources at Google.
A spokesperson for the company told Sky News: “We’re not working on or considering an ad-free search experience.
“As we’ve done many times before, we’ll continue to build new premium capabilities and services to enhance our subscription offerings across Google.” They added: “We don’t have anything to announce right now.”
It comes amid intense competition between tech firms over AI and how to use it, with some commentators accusing Google of struggling to keep up with rivals such as ChatGPT.
Last month it emerged that the company had decided to restrict its AI chatbot Gemini from answering election-related questions in some countries due to concerns about the information being provided to users.
In February, Google also stopped the tool from generating images following complaints about “inaccurate” historical depictions of people.