Traditional search engines face an existential challenge as AI chatbots reshape how people find information online. In a new Bloomberg Markets podcast, Elizabeth Reid, Google's vice president of search, discusses the company's strategy for navigating a world where large language models increasingly serve as the first stop for internet queries.

Companies like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI find themselves in an awkward position. Their AI products encourage users to get answers directly, cutting out the traditional search results page that drives advertising revenue. This tension between AI innovation and search-based business models sits at the heart of the industry's current transformation.

The shift represents a fundamental change in user behavior. Millions now turn to ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini instead of typing queries into search bars, fundamentally altering the economics that have powered Big Tech for decades. Reid's conversation offers rare insight into how Google plans to defend its search empire against the very technology it helped create.