Key Points
Alphabet has become a major player in the AI race.
Its AI assistant, Google Gemini, has 650 million monthly active users and a growing market share.
The company's AI search tools have also proven popular.
The tech sector is full of exciting investment opportunities, especially in recent years, with the growing popularity of artificial intelligence (AI).
If you have $5,000 ready to put into a quality tech company, my No. 1 pick right now is Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL). Since it's an established and highly successful business, it's less risky than many hot tech stocks. Although it's already worth $3.8 trillion (as of Dec. 26), this company still has plenty of room to grow for one key reason.
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Alphabet is increasing its share of the AI market
Once seen as a potential threat to Alphabet and its Google Search business, AI has become an important part of the tech giant's success. Google's AI assistant, Gemini, had 650 million monthly active users in the third quarter of 2025, according to Alphabet's earnings report. That's up from 450 million in July.
In that earnings report, Alphabet also reported that its first-party models, including Gemini, processed 7 billion tokens per minute. For perspective, OpenAI (the developer of ChatGPT) announced in October that its API platform processes 6 billion tokens per minute.
This is just one metric, and it's entirely possible that OpenAI soon announces it's processing 8 billion tokens per minute. Regardless, it's a sign that Google is attracting users to its AI products. Gemini's market share has also more than tripled over the last year, from 5.4% to 18.2%, according to Similarweb.
Alphabet is integrating AI across all its business segments. Its most successful business in terms of revenue, Google Search, now offers AI Overviews and AI Mode. AI Overviews reached over 2 billion monthly users earlier this year. The tech giant also has AI-powered ad tools.
Alphabet is one of the larger positions in my own portfolio, and I've added to it regularly. It's highly profitable (net income was $35 billion in Q3 2025), which provides a good degree of security, and its AI advancements set it up well for the future.
Should you buy stock in Alphabet right now?
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Lyle Daly has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.