The search giant is reported to be considering charging for premium features in a major business...
It would be the first time Google had charged for any of its content.
Google said it did not have anything to announce "Right now".
According to the Financial Times it is said to be looking at whether to add certain AI-powered search features to its premium subscription services which already offer access to its new AI assistant called Gemini, Google's version of the viral chatbot ChatGPT.Executives have reportedly not yet made a decision when or whether to move ahead with the technology but the FT said engineers were developing the know-how needed to deploy the service.
Google has faced challenges coming to grips with the AI revolution - earlier this year Gemini, which can answer questions in text form but also generate pictures in response to text prompts, stoked controversy after it mistakenly created an image of the US Founding Fathers including a black man.
Google apologised and immediately "Paused" the tool, saying it was "Missing the mark".
According to the global market research company Statista, Google has dominated the desktop search engine market since 2015 with a solid 80%+ of internet users.
It has diversified and now offers mail, productivity tools, enterprise products and mobile devices, among other ventures, and in 2023 it earned revenues of approximately $305.6bn.In a statement issued to the BBC, Google said it was "Not working on or considering an ad-free search experience".
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