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Google

Company

Fact-checked Jul 20, 2026

Also called: Google Inc., Alphabet Inc., Google search

Google is one of the world's largest and most influential technology companies, famous for its search engine. It's a major player in artificial intelligence, developing everything from foundational AI research to everyday AI-powered products like Android, YouTube, and its own large language models.

What is Google?

Google is an American multinational technology company founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were Ph.D. students at Stanford University. Their initial goal was to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. From humble beginnings, Google quickly grew into a global powerhouse, changing how people find information online and interact with technology.

The company first became famous for its search engine, which revolutionized internet navigation through its innovative PageRank algorithm. Since then, Google has expanded far beyond search, developing a vast ecosystem of products and services. These include the Chrome web browser, the Android mobile operating system, Gmail for email, YouTube for video content, Google Maps for navigation, and Google Cloud for cloud computing services, among many others. This wide array of offerings means billions of people use Google products daily, often without even realizing it.

In the realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Google is a true pioneer and leader. Its research division, Google AI, and its subsidiary DeepMind have been at the forefront of many significant AI breakthroughs. They've developed groundbreaking AI models like the Transformer architecture, which underpins many modern large language models, including their own Gemini family. Google integrates AI into virtually all its products, from improving search results and personalizing YouTube recommendations to powering features in Android and providing advanced capabilities in Google Cloud.

Google's continued investment in AI research and development keeps it at the cutting edge of the field. The company is actively working on new AI technologies, including advanced robotics, autonomous driving through Waymo, and healthcare applications through Verily. Its extensive resources, talented researchers, and massive datasets allow it to push the boundaries of what AI can do, impacting everything from scientific discovery to everyday user experiences. Google remains a critical force shaping the future of technology and artificial intelligence.

Common questions

What does the company Google do?

Google is an American multinational technology company founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were Ph.D. students at Stanford University. Their initial goal was to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. From humble beginnings, Google quickly grew into a global powerhouse, changing how people find information online and interact with technology.

What else is Google called?

Google is also referred to as Google Inc., Alphabet Inc., Google search.

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