Q: As a leading AI/ML specialist at Google, how do you see AI reshaping traditional search models?
Venkatesh: AI is fundamentally transforming how we approach search. Traditional models were based on keyword matching and link analysis, but AI allows us to understand user intent at a much deeper level. We're now able to process and analyze vast amounts of data in real-time, uncovering patterns and trends that were previously unattainable. This enables us to provide more accurate, relevant, and personalized search results. For example, in Local Search, our AI models help ensure that users are well-connected to small and local businesses around them for their everyday needs. These enhanced models and AI algorithms we developed over the year were able to increase the commerciality across 37 million queries globally every week with 4 million weekly queries across India and about 2 million weekly queries across the US. This directly impacts revenue for businesses and services that show up as results for all such user queries. Whether someone is looking for a restaurant, dentist, or plumber, our AI-driven approach directly influences how thousands of businesses across the world show up on Google Search, impacting millions of user interactions daily.