Google’s Head of Search Shares 3 Rules Every Business Needs to Win in the AI Era

Google Search has undergone some serious changes that will likely have big implications for how businesses present themselves online—and how people find them. Google VP of Search Liz Reid says there are no quick tips to hack the system, but she does explain there are techniques that entrepreneurs and business-owners can use to optimize their digital footprint for AI search. Hint: it’s all about quality. When Reid took stage at the tech company’s annual developer’s conference in May, she spelled out her vision for a brand new world of Google Search. She touted the biggest change to Google’s iconic search bar in 25 years. That included baking AI into the search experience through conversational language search interface, contextual search history, and even search with video and images. She also teased agentic features that are still only slowly rolling out to select users. Given the fact that AI Mode rolled out in 2025, these changes are hardly the first to rock Google search in recent years. Entrepreneurs may be understandably confused about how best to optimize their online presence, as AI changes the game for keywords and SEO. Despite all these changes and perhaps a bit of confusion, there are still some best practices to keep in mind. Reid sat down with Inc. to share her advice for getting the best results out of Google search for your company. Go deep and niche Reid says the recent changes to Google Search have resulted in a higher overall volume of queries and a change in their nature. The incorporation of generative AI into Google Search means people are ditching keywords in favor of questions that are phrased the way they might actually ask them. They are getting specific, providing context, and asking follow-up questions. Because users are able to get more detailed about their questions and preferences, Reid says this new behavior offers a real opportunity for companies to seize upon what makes their product or expertise unique. She gives the example of searching for shoes, which in the era of keyword search may have weighted many shoes equally. Now users can specify that they want “eco and sustainable shoes,” made by a founder with certain specifications, Reid notes. “Now this opportunity for people to differentiate themselves and shine becomes much more possible than if you could have done it before with keywords,” she says. Of course, that means business owners have to work that individuality into content on their own websites, online storefronts, and social media. Make content with value Reid encourages entrepreneurs not only to identify what makes them unique, but create value around that. In e-commerce, that might mean uploading more detailed product information to Google’s Merchant Center, and including nuanced descriptions of products on a company’s website. For a service-based business, that can mean focusing on thought leadership through mediums like podcasts, articles, and blogs that dig deeper than surface level information people may already be able to find in a Google AI overview. “Sometimes you’ll have a bunch of sites in which they’re basically saying the same thing as 500 other sites. That’s not going to go,” she says. “People would rather go and see a site that doesn’t say this exact same thing as AI overviews, but now takes it down to a much deeper level.” And, of course, Reid says, content has to be interesting: “It’s not going to rank well if when people click on it, they hate it, and they leave right away. So the first thing you should figure out is, would anyone want to read it?” Be wary of GEO claims SEO, or search engine optimization, has quickly given way to what’s being called GEO, or generative engine optimization. And a number of businesses have already been built on the claim that they’ve unlocked the secret to GEO. Reid says entrepreneurs should be skeptical of such claims and check out Google’s own resource with best practices to help people optimize for generative AI. The site notes that SEO rules still apply, and offers more detail on what high quality content actually means. It also includes “myths” about AI search, including that websites must have machine readable .txt files, content written especially for AI, or specially structured data. “I would definitely encourage people to use the tips and to express some skepticism in what they’re reading from some folks, especially if there’s business incentives for them to claim they can solve all your problems,” she says. BY CHLOE AIELLO @CHLOBO_ILO

The Best Leaders Aren’t Replacing Employees With AI, They’re Empowering Them

For years, you’ve been told that artificial intelligence is coming for your job. Silicon Valley insisted automation would replace millions of workers. Now, the people who pushed that narrative are changing their message, and that shift could reshape how you think about technology at work. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and other prominent tech leaders are completely abandoning the doomsday narrative. They have realized that terrifying your workforce is a terrible way to scale an enterprise. When your employees constantly fear for their livelihoods, operational momentum stalls, engagement drops, and your best talent starts looking for the exit. To protect your company and accelerate your growth, you must completely flip your internal messaging. You need to frame these new tools as massive productivity multipliers that make your people indispensable instead of replaceable. Here are three critical leadership lessons to help guide your team through this technological transition. 1. Stop selling fear and start selling execution power. If you tell your staff that an algorithm can do their jobs faster and cheaper, you immediately destroy all psychological safety in your organization. Workers who feel threatened will actively resist adopting the expensive new tools you just purchased. Instead of framing automated software as a replacement for human talent, you must position it as an upgrade for human potential. Show your team exactly how automation eliminates their most tedious administrative tasks so they can focus on high level strategy and creative problem solving. According to recent Gallup workplace data, broader technology adoption among employees is strongly associated with having active managerial support that focuses on strategic integration. 2. Ditch top-down decrees for internal champions. You cannot force true innovation through an executive mandate. Many white collar workers remain deeply skeptical of the automated tools their employers roll out. If you send a company-wide email demanding immediate compliance with a new system, your team will only use the tool when you are actively watching them. People inherently resist mandates that are forced upon them. To build a truly innovative culture, your adoption strategy must rely on organic influence rather than executive pressure. Look closely at your team and identify the employees who are already experimenting with these tools on their own time. You must empower these enthusiastic early adopters to train and encourage their peers. When a highly skeptical employee sees a trusted colleague using new software to finish a project early and leave the office on time, they will eagerly ask for a tutorial. Peer influence will always be your most effective strategy for managing corporate change. 3. Protect human ownership of the final output. The goal of implementing automation is never to turn your employees into passive observers. If your team members become completely dependent on algorithms to think for them, the quality of your business output will rapidly decline. As a leader, you must remind your workforce that human judgment remains your ultimate competitive advantage. Encourage your team to question automated summaries, challenge algorithmic data, and inject their own unique perspectives into every project. True productivity happens when human creativity directs the technology, not the other way around. The ultimate leadership takeaway The companies that thrive in this new era will not be the ones with the most advanced algorithms. They will be the ones with the most empowered humans. Your primary job as an entrepreneur is to build a culture where technology serves your people. Stop predicting the end of human labor and start building a workplace where your team feels truly irreplaceable. EXPERT OPINION BY ASH KUMRA

AI Was Supposed to Save Companies Money. Instead, It’s Blowing Up Budgets in a Big Way

The refrain from executives amid the seemingly-continuous job cuts over the past few months has been a common one: AI can do the job at a lower cost than human workers. But a new report has issued a stark warning: That school of thought is wrong. Very wrong. A survey from KPMG finds business owners are aghast at their bills for AI, now that many AI companies have shifted to a usage-based model. The accounting firm spoke with 2,145 executives around the world, and one-third said they had a limited understanding of usage costs. AI companies used to charge corporate clients a flat rate, but as compute costs have increased, many major operators are switching to a different model to help control costs. That wasn’t factored into some executives’ decisions to go all-in on the technology. “AI is now as much a financial management priority as it is a technology one,” Rob Fisher, global head of advisory at KPMG, said in a statement. “The real risk isn’t investing in AI but doing so without cost visibility and an understanding of the economics of AI. Organizations that have visibility into their costs and maintain strong oversight are the ones translating AI investment into real, measurable value.” Making matters worse, the higher pricing model comes as many businesses are still figuring out how to use AI efficiently. Many did not realize, for instance, the need to build the capabilities required to forecast, monitor, and manage AI spending, the report says. There have been several examples of this in the past year. Uber blew through its entire 2026 AI budget in just four months. (The company has since set usage caps on various AI-powered tools used by its staff.) Another company, which remains unnamed, spent $500 million on AI in just one month, since its employees apparently had no limit on how many licenses they could use. AI companies acknowledge the rising prices but aren’t signaling things will change anytime soon. Last month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in an interview: “People are really saying, ‘My company spent my entire 2026 budget in Q1. Can you make this more efficient?’” And since the start of the year, Altman continued, it went from being “an issue that never came up (people were totally happy with the amount they were spending) to, all of a sudden, a huge issue.” Part of the reason for that new urgency is the escalating cost of new models as AI companies battle for supremacy. Each new top-level release is “roughly twice as expensive per token as the one it replaced,” Arvind Jain, CEO of AI company Glean, told CNBC. Prioritizing people While there has been no slowdown in tech layoffs so far (though Gartner says half of those will be reversed by 2027), a growing number of executives say they’re focusing more on human-AI collaboration, utilizing the advantages of both, and choosing to upskill their remaining workforce. “By putting AI directly into the hands of their people, organizations are better positioned to translate adoption into real business value,” KPMG’s report says. Value is key, as just 7 percent of the executives surveyed said they were seeing a return on investment in AI. Nearly one-quarter of those executives, however, said they were facing pressure to prove the technology’s value to investors. Step one of that is getting a better handle on spending. Some 23 percent said they struggle with usage-based costs, and 42 percent said they only have partial visibility into AI spending. That’s making tools like monitoring dashboards, which track the cost of each employee’s AI usage, more common. And roughly half of the executives say cost reviews have become part of the AI approval process. Companies that take those steps, says KPMG, are five times more likely to report an established ROI. “We’re seeing a clear divide between organizations with leadership accountability at the top and those without,” said Steve Chase, KPMG’s global head of AI and digital innovation. BY CHRIS MORRIS @MORRISATLARGE

Research Says Leaders Are Overlooking 1 Simple Way to Accelerate AI Adoption

Almost every company is doing something with AI right now. Some are testing chatbots. Others are automating workflows, redesigning roles, or asking employees to “use AI more” without much direction. But embracing AI and scaling it well are two very different things. According to the 2025 McKinsey Global Survey on AI, only 38% have successfully begun scaling AI across their businesses. Enter the workforce readiness recession. Employees aren’t falling behind because they’re resistant to AI, but because they lack the confidence, clarity, and reinforcement to embrace it. As AI reshapes the workplace, leaders must become both advocates for change and trusted guides through it. According to Achievers Workforce Institute’s (AWI), leaders under pressure to demonstrate AI ROI may be overlooking one of the simplest ways to accelerate adoption: employee recognition. Recognition isn’t separate from an AI strategy—it’s a practical leadership tool for accelerating adoption. Stop readiness from falling behind AWI’s seventh annual State of Recognition Report finds that just 19% of workers feel confident using AI tools, and only 18% feel supported in adapting to AI. How can companies expect results when over 80% of employees haven’t been given the confidence or support to see where AI fits into their day-to-day work? “Those who create the conditions for employee change readiness will separate the winners from the losers, both in the race to realize AI’s potential and in building a great workplace culture,” said David Bator, Managing Director of AWI. “Employees aren’t going to wake up one day ready to do their best work with AI. Change on that scale is never automatic. Confidence is built brick by brick through everyday leadership behaviors. Leaders who embrace recognition will be the ones who create the confidence, trust, and advocacy needed for AI to scale across their businesses.” AWI’s research shows recognition is most effective when it reinforces learning, adaptability, and progress rather than perfection. Closing the recognition gap closes the readiness gap Leaders have long fallen short on recognition. The first thing AWI advises is to get right is frequency. Every employee should receive meaningful recognition at least monthly to feel supported through change, yet just 19% of workers say they are regularly recognized by their manager. Leaders need to make regular recognition a management requirement, not an afterthought. Then focus on one keyword: meaningful. In the AI era, meaningful recognition isn’t about celebrating AI for AI’s sake. It’s about recognizing the human capabilities behind successful AI adoption. If an employee uses AI to uncover new sales opportunities, don’t recognize the technology, but the creativity, initiative, and business impact behind its use. “A common misconception is that recognition does nothing beyond making people feel good,” added Bator. “While celebrating your people early and often is important, leaders should see appreciation as a change catalyst. When managers reinforce learning, adaptability, and responsible AI use, they recognize good work and help drive organizational progress as AI integrates into daily work.” AI raises the value of humane leadership There’s no denying it: AI is a force of disruption at work. But every major technology transformation has ultimately been about people. A great leader understands this and ensures employees experience change as something they can grow through, not something being done to them. Right now, there is a lot of ground to make up: just 18% of workers feel informed when changes affect their job, and only 23% say communication is clear during uncertainty. Employees are asking for clarity, coaching, and confidence, and leaders can’t delegate that responsibility to AI. Recognition is most powerful when it comes from another human being. In my book, Humane Leadership: Lead with Radical Love, Be a Kick-Ass Boss, I argue that humane leaders exhibit two essential qualities —trustworthiness and advocacy —that matter even more in the AI era. Leaders bring clarity to AI by using recognition to reinforce what good work and responsible behavior look like during rapid change. Done well, recognition helps employees trust themselves, trust their company, and understand what great work looks like in a workplace being reshaped by a technology we have never seen before. EXPERT OPINION BY MARCEL SCHWANTES, EXECUTIVE COACH, SPEAKER, AND AUTHOR @MARCELSCHWANTES