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Howdy Notebooker!

Google's Q1 2026 earnings call just dropped and there are two takeaways that every AEO practitioner needs to internalize before their next client call.

The brilliant Marie Haynes took live notes during the call (huge thanks to her, go subscribe to her newsletter) and there are two quotes in there I can't stop thinking about.

Quote #1: "Search is growing strongly. Queries are at an all time high - especially commercial queries. The growth is driven by AI Overviews and AI Mode."

Quote #2: "AI Mode already surfaces organic product recommendations based on a user's query and we are now testing a new ad format that displays retailers who sell those recommended products."

Let's break down why both of these matter and what you should do about it starting Monday.

"Search is dying" is officially dead as a narrative

You've heard it from clients. You've heard it on LinkedIn. You've probably heard it from your clients.

"Isn't AI killing Google?"

Google just gave you the receipts to shut that down for good.

Here's what came out of the call:

1. Search and other revenue grew 19% YoY
2. Queries are at an all-time high
3. Commercial queries are leading the growth
4. Retail, finance, and health drove the biggest contribution

And here's the kicker. According to Marie's notes, Sundar and Philipp were both crystal clear that this growth is driven by AI Overviews and AI Mode. Not in spite of them.

Philipp went further. He said "AI fundamentally changes how the world searches and accesses information. It's an expansionary moment."

Expansionary. Not contracting. Not flat. Expanding.

So the next time a client asks if they should pull back on SEO because "AI is taking over," you have a Google executive on record saying the opposite.