Google's parent company Alphabet reported a substantial decline in YouTube's advertising revenue for the third consecutive quarter. Sales in Q1 2023 dropped 2.6% YoY to reach $6.69bn, down 7.8% since Q4 2022 and 1.9% since Q3 2022. The company’s Q1 earnings beat Wall Street forecasts, driven by sustained performance from its search engine, which reached $40.4bn, up 1.87% YoY. Google's long-term reliance on the search business has become increasingly precarious, as search investments become more concentrated with Bing and ChatGPT stealing users in recent times.  

The search giant is purportedly intensifying its efforts to expand its AI capabilities and add generative AI features to Google Workspace offerings like Gmail and Docs. The company has combined its Brain and DeepMind groups, which CEO Sundar Pichai said is aimed at "significantly accelerate our progress in AI." Google also reported for the first time that its cloud business is profitable.