Wasn't this note from someone at Google discussed on HN last week, before The Economist picked it up?

It is a huge issue for Google. Not because they're behind, but because chat engines don't seem to map well to an ad-supported model. Unless they talk like the Youtubers who start with "But first, let me tell you about our sponsor, FBX Crypto".

They do map well to a surveillance model. That's already getting regulator attention. Look what happened to TikTok, which is really good at focusing on a user's interests. Chat engines focus like that. They have to, to work well.