What Google and Reddit's bad days have in common

On the same day Google's Gemini 4 Carbon topped Artificial Analysis' Intelligence Index, Alphabet shares fell 12.6 percent, erasing roughly $500 billion, amid investor concerns over up to $205 billion in planned capital spending and negative $9 billion free cash flow. Google's chief business officer said increased AI Mode usage hurts the company because it monetizes worse than traditional search, while Reddit's stock dropped 15 percent after it reported falling search traffic and said it would require users to log in. The column argues that as AI answers keep value on Google's pages, sites will gate content and sell access, and Google can afford licensing better than most competitors.