Articles tagged “alphabet”

Waymo's test is a baby step — autonomous vehicles will serve the perimeter of the airport, avoiding the front door of terminals themselves. But it's the Alphabet unit's first foray into serving an airport. If it works, the days of driverless cars and profitable ridehailing services will edge closer.

Pressure from regulators and maybe disgruntled partners prompted Google to add free booking links in search results and Maps in travel. Google certainly hasn't leveled the proverbial playing field among advertisers and non-advertisers, but hotels and smaller online travel agencies may see some benefit.

As travel demand picks up helter skelter, depending on the destination and trip mode, travel advertising has returned as a strong piece of Google's business. Among the companies that have emerged from the pandemic with momentum, you can place Google in the upper echelon.

Google's advertising revenue and profits skyrocketed during the fourth quarter — although travel industry spend didn't drive the results. As with other industries, travel advertisers will likely flock to YouTube for brand promotions when demand returns.

Business travel is often dreaded by perpetual road warriors, but that’s not true for Valentina Frassi. Except when there's a pandemic, Frassi travels the world recording iconic scenes of major landmarks that most people can only dream of seeing.

With potential pressure from U.S. regulatory authorities and perhaps displeasure from airlines, Google is making the biggest change to the way it monetizes flight search since it launched Google Flights in 2011. Perhaps free search engine optimization for flights isn't dead after all.

By pushing back against Sidewalk Labs, the city of Toronto has shown that the future of the smart city will be forged by compromise and collaboration with local authorities.

If Alphabet does indeed buy Fitbit, it'll be great news for the tracking brand. To keep in step with Apple Watch, though, Fitbit will have to ramp up its innovation. Needless to say, Alphabet has its work cut out for it.