Google is intensifying efforts to make Search more personal than ever, with plans to introduce an “AI Mode” capable of drawing insights from users’ Gmail, Drive, and other Google apps.

The feature, now under development, is seen as part of the company’s broader push to redefine how people interact with Search—potentially transforming the internet’s information flow and disrupting traditional web traffic patterns.

In a recent podcast with Silicon Valley Girl, Google’s Robby Stein confirmed that the company is “exploring ways” to integrate AI Mode across its ecosystem.

“We announced at I/O an opportunity for users in the future to be able to opt into an experience with enhanced personalization,” Stein said. “We want people to be able to help Google and help the services know more about you so that it can be more helpful.”

The upcoming AI Mode would be capable of pulling real-time data from Gmail, Calendar, Maps, and Drive to deliver uniquely customized results. It could summarize flight bookings from Gmail, generate schedules automatically, or pull travel recommendations based on saved itineraries and map searches—all without users having to navigate multiple pages or apps.

This direction builds on Google’s ongoing rollout of its AI Overview, a generative feature that places AI-written summaries directly at the top of search results. The feature, powered by the company’s Gemini model, aims to provide direct answers rather than simply linking to external websites.

However, this shift has already begun to affect online publishers and media outlets that rely heavily on Google traffic. Multiple analytics firms have reported significant declines in referral visits since AI Overviews began appearing in search results earlier this year. Because users can now get summarized answers immediately on Google’s results page, they are less likely to click through to original sources—a trend that some publishers warn could threaten the economics of online journalism.

In September, Penske Media Corporation (PMC), owner of titles including Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Vibe, and Artforum, filed a lawsuit accusing the tech giant of illegally repurposing news content to generate AI summaries that undercut publishers’ business models.

But Google has pushed back, insisting that its AI tools aren’t killing publisher traffic, even as its own product strategy and external data suggest otherwise. In a blog, Google’s Head of Search, Liz Reid, disputed claims that the company’s AI-driven features are siphoning off clicks. Reid wrote that total organic click volume from Google Search to websites has remained “relatively stable” year-over-year, and even claimed that the “average click quality” — measured by whether users linger on a page — has “slightly increased.”

“User trends are shifting traffic to different sites,” Reid noted, adding that “people are increasingly seeking out and clicking on sites with forums, videos, podcasts, and posts where they can hear authentic voices and first-hand perspectives.”

Stein, however, framed the upcoming personalization as a user-centric innovation, saying that the experience will remain optional.

“We did launch recently some steps in this direction. So in Labs now, you can opt into a new experiment for personalizing shopping and local recommendations for restaurants,” he explained.

It is not yet clear whether Google will train its AI models directly on users’ personal data, but the company insists the experience will be opt-in and privacy-controlled. Still, the growing integration of AI into Search—combined with access to personal information—marks a fundamental shift in how Google positions itself: no longer just an index of the web, but an intelligent assistant capable of predicting needs and producing original answers.

It is believed that as AI Overviews evolve and personalization deepens, Google’s Search could move further away from the traditional web model that sustains much of the internet’s publishing economy. While the company argues that AI-enhanced Search will improve user satisfaction, the looming question remains whether the convenience of personalization will come at the expense of the open web.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has reported a strong rebound in third-quarter earnings, powered by a resurgence in its insurance operations and disciplined capital management that lifted its cash holdings to an unprecedented level.

The company’s results mark both its financial strength and Buffett’s trademark conservatism, even as markets await a leadership transition that will mark the end of an era for the 95-year-old investor.

The conglomerate’s operating profit — a key measure that excludes investment gains and losses — climbed 34% year over year to $13.49 billion. The growth was largely driven by a surge in insurance underwriting income, which rose more than 200% to $2.37 billion. Stronger performance in its GEICO unit, coupled with higher premium pricing and improved catastrophe management, helped reverse previous underwriting losses. The results, according to some analysts, highlight Berkshire’s ability to capitalize on rising insurance demand in a volatile global market.

Buffett’s decision to keep Berkshire’s cash stockpile untouched drew particular attention. Despite the firm’s share price decline earlier this year, Berkshire did not execute any buybacks during the first nine months of 2025. The restraint is consistent with Buffett’s view that buybacks should only occur when shares trade below intrinsic value — a threshold he clearly does not believe has been met. The absence of repurchases pushed Berkshire’s cash reserves to a record $381.6 billion, surpassing the previous high of $347.7 billion reached in the first quarter.

The company also disclosed that it was a net seller of equities during the quarter, unloading shares for a taxable gain of $10.4 billion. Buffett has often cautioned against chasing overpriced stocks and has been content to hold cash until what he calls “fat pitch” opportunities emerge.

There aren’t many things that look cheap to us right now, Buffett remarked earlier this year, reflecting his cautious stance amid a soaring stock market.

Berkshire’s shares have gained about 5% in 2025, trailing the S&P 500’s 16.3% rise — a gap analysts attribute partly to investor unease over Buffett’s impending retirement. The legendary investor announced in May that he will step down as chief executive at the end of the year after six decades at the helm. Greg Abel, Berkshire’s vice chairman overseeing non-insurance operations, will take over as CEO and begin penning shareholder letters from 2026. Buffett will remain chairman of the board, ensuring a measure of continuity in the conglomerate’s famously decentralized management structure.

Following the succession announcement, Berkshire’s shares fell by double digits from their all-time highs, pointing to what many call the erosion of the “Buffett premium” — the extra valuation investors assign to the company because of Buffett’s unparalleled reputation for capital allocation and long-term discipline. Still, analysts say the company’s fundamentals remain strong, with operating subsidiaries like BNSF Railway, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and Precision Castparts delivering consistent earnings.

The quarter also saw Berkshire make its largest acquisition since 2022 — a $9.7 billion all-cash purchase of Occidental Petroleum’s petrochemical arm, OxyChem. The deal expands Berkshire’s footprint in industrial and energy assets, complementing its long-standing investment in Occidental’s equity and its broader exposure to the oil and gas sector. It comes on the heels of Berkshire’s $11.6 billion purchase of Alleghany Insurance three years ago.

Including investment gains from its massive stock portfolio — which features holdings in Apple, Coca-Cola, American Express, and Chevron — Berkshire’s overall earnings rose 17% year-on-year to $30.8 billion. The company’s Apple stake, worth more than $150 billion, remains its largest single holding, although Buffett recently trimmed the position slightly to manage tax liabilities.

Analysts believe Berkshire’s mounting cash reserves could soon position it as a stabilizing force if equity valuations correct. Buffett is essentially sitting on a war chest the size of a small nation’s GDP. If valuations come down, Berkshire will be in the strongest position globally to act.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on Friday he remained hopeful that the company’s Blackwell AI chips could eventually be sold in China, but emphasized that the decision ultimately rests with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Speaking in Seoul, South Korea, during his first official visit to the country in more than ten years, Huang made the remarks a day after Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks there — a meeting closely watched for its implications on trade and technology cooperation.

“I’m always hopeful that both governments will arrive at a conclusion someday where Nvidia’s technology could be exported to China,” Huang said. “We’re always hoping to return to China, and I think that Nvidia in China is very good. It’s in the best interest of the United States. It’s in the best interest of China.”

Following the talks, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that semiconductors had been discussed and that China would be “talking to Nvidia and others about taking chips,” but clarified that “we’re not talking about the Blackwell.”

The Blackwell chip is Nvidia’s most powerful AI processor yet — and the centerpiece of its latest generation of hardware used in training advanced AI systems. Its export to China has been blocked under U.S. restrictions on high-performance semiconductor sales, part of Washington’s broader strategy to prevent Beijing from gaining access to technologies that could enhance its military or surveillance capabilities.

The U.S.-China standoff over advanced chip technology has become a defining element of global AI competition. Washington’s export controls, first tightened in 2022 and later expanded, prohibit the sale of Nvidia’s most capable AI chips, including the A100, H100, and now the Blackwell, to China.

Huang has spent months urging U.S. policymakers to reconsider those limits, arguing that Chinese AI’s reliance on American-designed hardware ultimately benefits the United States.

He has previously said Chinese AI’s dependence on U.S. hardware is good for America, suggesting that restricting access could backfire by accelerating China’s push toward semiconductor self-sufficiency.

According to sources cited by Reuters, Nvidia has been developing a special variant of its Blackwell chip tailored for China — a model that would fall below the U.S. performance threshold for export bans but still outperform the company’s H20 chip, the most advanced model currently cleared for sale in the Chinese market.

However, the Chinese government has reportedly cooled toward Nvidia, discouraging local firms from purchasing the H20 as part of efforts to strengthen domestic alternatives. Instead, Beijing has been encouraging investment in Huawei Technologies Co., which has aggressively moved to expand its own chip production capacity.

A Shrinking Chinese Market

Huang admitted that Nvidia’s ambitions for a foothold in China have diminished significantly.

“We had been hoping for a non-zero market share in China, but we’re now expecting zero,” he told reporters.

Although the U.S. has expressed national security concerns that Nvidia’s chips could be diverted for military use, Huang dismissed the notion that export controls would meaningfully limit China’s technological capabilities. China’s own domestically produced AI chips are already good enough for their military applications, he said.

He further cautioned against underestimating Huawei’s competitive strength, calling it one of the most capable technology companies in the world.

“It is deeply uninformed to think that Huawei can’t build systems,” Huang said. “It is foolish to underestimate the might of China and the incredible competitive spirit of Huawei. This is a company with extraordinary technology.”

A Complex Balancing Act

Nvidia, now the world’s most valuable semiconductor maker with a market capitalization surpassing $5 trillion, relies heavily on global demand for its AI processors but faces increasing political headwinds as Washington and Beijing vie for dominance in advanced computing.

During his trip to Seoul, Huang said he was delighted with the success of the Trump-Xi meeting, though he was unaware of the specific topics discussed.

“I have every confidence that the two presidents had a very good conversation,” he said. “It doesn’t have to involve anything that I do.”

While Nvidia’s presence in China has been sharply curtailed by U.S. policy, Huang’s remarks suggest that the company remains optimistic about a possible reopening of the Chinese market — a move that could reshape the global AI supply chain if permitted by the Trump administration.

For now, Nvidia’s growth continues to be driven by soaring demand in the U.S., Europe, and South Korea, where it is expanding partnerships with Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Group, and other technology firms investing heavily in AI infrastructure.

However, Nvidia’s future in China remains one of the most consequential questions in the evolving U.S.-China technology rivalry — one that hinges on whether Washington sees strategic advantage in allowing its most advanced chips to flow once again into the world’s second-largest economy.