Will part of the Google search engine soon disappear behind a paywall? According to a report from FT, Google is considering shifting its business model to include new AI capabilities.

The Financial Times believes there will be changes to Google search. It has been known for some time that Google wants to upgrade its successful search engine with generative AI functions, but these new functions may not be for everyone. According to the FT, there is internal discussion about whether AI features should be put behind a paywall, and engineers are said to be developing the infrastructure behind the scenes to make this possible.

In this new structure, the classic search engine with search results remains available free of charge. However, users may have to pay extra for additional AI functionalities and AI-generated content. Google also previously launched a paid subscription for its chatbot Gemini Advanced (formerly known as Bard), analogous to ChatGPT Plus. This subscription costs 21.99 euros per month.

Direct revenue from AI

Advertising has been Google’s main source of income for years. This is one of the reasons why the search engine could always be kept free: you “paid” with the data you left behind while surfing. Eighty percent of Google’s total revenue comes from advertising.

But Workspace subscriptions are becoming increasingly important in Google’s revenue model, and the company now wants to apply this formula to its AI functions. Gemini is expensive to train and maintain, and paid AI features can generate direct revenue to offset these costs.

Google itself remains vague about its future plans. In a statement to the BBC, the company simply denied that there was an ad-free version of the search engine. “As before, we continue to develop new premium features and services to enhance our subscription offering on Google. “We have nothing to announce at this point,” it said.