Alphabet is not in immediate danger. It remains far and away the dominant player in search and has a diversified revenue base, with YouTube and its Cloud business, to lean on too. The search giant still has time to figure out how to escape its innovator’s dilemma—but Cue’s testimony is a reminder that the clock is ticking.

Investors have been worried that AI chatbots will eventually displace Google Search, which accounts for 55% of Alphabet’s overall revenues, and is believed to also account for a much larger percent of the company’s profits.

While overall search volume may be up, Google may be grabbing a bit less of that larger pie. Data from web analytics firm Statcounter has shown a small, but marked decline in Google Search’s global market share since the debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late November 2022.

stocks.apple.com: An Apple exec suggested AI chatbots were eroding Google's search business, sending Alphabet shares plummeting. The truth is more complicated.