Alphabet declined to answer one of its investors during questions about Google’s AI deal with Apple on Wednesday’s fourth-quarter earnings call. That decision tells us something, though — Alphabet isn’t ready to talk about how this partnership will impact its core business, which is increasingly focused on AI. In Google Search, consumers see links to advertisers’ websites at the top of their search results. Ads in AI Mode, which could one day represent the future of Google’s search business, are still an “experiment” for now. Google is also trying out agentic shopping, including Shop with AI Mode, to guide consumers with product-related queries to a seamless checkout experience from the AI interface.