Google facing query share loss for first time ever, says Barclays

Despite being "years ahead" in artificial intelligence, Alphabet (GOOGL) shares face new risks from higher inference costs with AI assisted search results, and potential query share loss to ChatGPT, Apple (AAPL), Microsoft’s (MSFT) Bing and others, Barclays the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes Alphabet shares are likely to be range-bound until the digital advertising market reaccelerates and competition fears abate later in the second half of 2023. For the first time in Google’s history there could be query share loss to competitors, contends Barclays. It thinks Alphabet "is in a new era" but keeps an Overweight rating on the name with a $160 price target. The new era is somewhat discounted in the stock, but the ad market recovery and "several quarters of upside" starting in the seocnd half of 2023 are not, says the analyst.