Alphabet’s Gemini Is An Underrated Part Of The Company’s AI Push

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG | GOOG Price Prediction) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has become an AI juggernaut. While it already had the pieces — search, cloud, and advertising — a 64% gain over the past year has put the stock deeper into the spotlight. Google…

Published January 9, 2026, 7:05pm ET · 3 min read

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The iconic Google headquarters stands as a testament to Alphabet's expansive operations, as the company navigates the evolving landscape of AI innovation and investor expectations. © JHVEPhoto / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG | GOOG Price Prediction) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has become an AI juggernaut. While it already had the pieces — search, cloud, and advertising — a 64% gain over the past year has put the stock deeper into the spotlight. Google Cloud is a major growth engine, and Waymo may be one of the most promising Alphabet projects to date.

However, Google Gemini has been silently racking up some big wins. It has more than 650 million monthly active users and processes seven billion tokens per minute. In this case, tokens are small bits of data that come when people enter prompts into Gemini. Text prompts are converted into tokens, and one token is approximately four characters. 

All of this talk about tokens basically means Gemini is generating plenty of search queries, and it’s one of the reasons Alphabet will continue to have a bright future.

Google’s Search Engine Dominance Just Got A Lot Safer

Alphabet wasn’t always dominant with AI. A slow start, combined with ChatGPT’s quick momentum, made some people think Google could possibly get dethroned. However, Google has significantly improved Gemini and once again looks like the comfortable leader in the search industry. 

Not only does Gemini protect Google’s dominance, but it also enhances Google’s search engine. Consumers get higher-quality results, which may increase the amount of time people spend on the site. Furthermore, Gemini operates seamlessly with Google’s interface, which still lets the tech giant display ads.

Some investors believed AI would disrupt Google’s business, especially with fears of an AI model like ChatGPT or Grok dethroning Google. It’s easy to call those fears overblown in hindsight, and investors who held strong were greatly rewarded last year.

Gemini Is Becoming An Assistant That Transcends Search

Gemini enhances the quality of every Google search, but it isn’t just a useful resource for learning new things. It also acts as an AI agent that can perform various tasks. You can tell Gemini to create a quiz around a language that you want to master. It can also create articles and videos with a single prompt.

While Gemini can help with many goals and save time, it may not have exactly what you need. That’s why Alphabet lets people upload files and save specific instructions to create their own AI experts in Gemini. It’s essentially an assistant that caters to your personal objectives.

Gemini has a free plan that will give you plenty of perks. However, the company also has two monthly subscription plans that unlock additional benefits. As these plans become more valuable and attract more subscribers, Gemini can bring in steady, predictable recurring revenue, just like YouTube Premium.

Alphabet Has A Robust Balance Sheet

While Gemini is competing with other AI models, those same models don’t have the same capital as Gemini’s parent company. OpenAI is currently unprofitable, while Alphabet reported a net profit of $34.98 billion in Q3 2025. Alphabet also has $163.7 billion in total current assets, which is almost twice as much as its current liabilities.

Alphabet has the capital to pour into Gemini enhancements so it extends its lead over other AI models. It can also integrate Gemini with its existing offerings, such as YouTube and Google search. While emerging AI leaders are relying on investors and financing to endure losses, Alphabet can pull straight from its profits and balance sheet to improve Gemini.

 

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Marc Guberti

Marc Guberti is a personal finance writer who has written for US News & World Report, Business Insider, Newsweek and other publications. He also hosts the Breakthrough Success Podcast which teaches listeners how to use content marketing to grow their businesses.

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