Unsurprisingly, barely any of you want to pay Google for AI-powered Searches

A recent report claimed that Google is exploring ways to offer AI-powered search features for a fee. These AI search features could become part of Google’s existing subscription services like Gemini Advanced or Google One. But despite the fee, this premium tier of Google Search could continue to include ads. A conclusive decision is still up in the air, and the launch timeline for this is uncertain, but it’s certainly a direction that Google appears willing to explore.

Unsurprisingly, most of our readers don’t appreciate such a maneuver if it comes to fruition. According to our poll, over 75% of our participating readers refuse to pay for AI-powered Google search features. Less than 2.5% are actually willing to pay for it, while another 12% are on board with the idea, provided the subscription is cheap enough.

Readers had various reasons why they would never pay for an AI search. The primary reason prevalent appears to be the unsatisfactory experiences with Google Search in general, which reduces confidence in purchasing a recurring subscription for seemingly “better” search results.

Some other commenters, like reader angryyoungman, were unsatisfied with the AI search results they received during the Google Search Generative Experience preview. They expect a larger improvement in the results of AI searches if Google has any chance of making money from them.

Similarly, many are understandably less trustworthy of AI search and never even wanted it in the first place. If there is no need for AI search from the user’s end, it is not surprising that they will be unwilling to pay for it, as we can glean from reader Boarnix’s reply.

Some readers, like Taylor, appear willing to pay for such AI search features, but they remain entirely unconvinced by Google search results lately, thanks to SEO to some extent.

Reader Robert Pearson believes that browsers and other competitors will keep their AI features “free” for users to use. So, for this next generation of Search, there aren’t many arguments that support monetization from a consumer’s point of view.

Reader Layla is open to paying for Google Search, but only for an ad-free experience. They want to disable Google ads everywhere or at least allow very tight control.

There weren’t enough comments sharing why they would readily pay for AI Google Search, and that isn’t surprising considering how few people agree with that train of thought.

If Google aims to monetize the Search Generative Experience, it will need a lot of useful features to convince long-time Google search users to pay for it. There is a trust deficit apparent with Google Search results, and even more so with AI results that are known to average responses and even hallucinate. With these limitations, jumping to a paid model remains unconvincing at this stage.

Further, keeping SGE bridled with ads may also not be the best move, but that may be needed to offset the higher cost of delivering AI results despite an upfront subscription. Google has a thin line to walk here, and we’re curious how the company will approach the same.