• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, May 9, 2025

Google’s MUM (multitask unified model) addresses complex search queries, and could become the future to monetize a combination of traditional search -- paid and organic -- with artificial intelligence as the company tinkers with ways to combine both.

The technology -- which Google introduced in 2021 -- combines images, videos, maps, fact sheets and more to make sense of all the different inputs that could be associated with a search query.  

Cindy Krum, founder and CEO of MobileMoxie, told Near Media in a video interview that she thinks MUM (multitask unified model) is the future of monetization, performance and optimization for organic and paid media.

“Google is trying to figure out the searchers’ journey so it can serve better results,” Krum said, adding that this is through a combination that makes it predictive, personal and conversational. Anticipating the next logical question is part of ad targeting.

The four important types of queries include "I want to know," "I want to go," "I want to do," and "I want to buy," Krum said.

"Do," "go," and "buy" are actional queries, whereas "know" is based on information. "Do" queries are the type Krum believes Google makes the most revenue from, and MUM could become the key to merging  traditional search with AI.

Krum believes Google will use MUM to determine the consumer’s journey. And while AI queries might not send as much traffic to websites, Google contends that the traffic is much better quality.

“If they think that way for organic [searches], they probably think that way for paid,” she said.

Better-quality ads get more clicks and conversions. And in addition, she said, Google can charge more for ads with higher conversion rates.

Greg Sterling, Near Media co-founder, also pointed out that AI’s memory capability personalizes ads. It gives the provider “enormous” amounts of data for any advertiser to retarget or even target new ads to a consumer based on that memory and knowing what consumers want, need or like.  

"What is the relationship between AI Mode and AI Overviews?" Sterling said. "You cannot monetize AI Mode, unless they replicate the current Google Search experience, as they have monetized Google."

Krum said Google has shown previews of how the company wants to monetize AI Mode and it's "gorgeous," showing iterations at past Google I/Os. 

"I don't think the lack of monetization in AI Mode is forever," Krum said.

"If I put on my Google is evil hat, a lot of what they will do in the next year or two [centers on creating] new motes and ways to operate as a monopoly that do not touch on what's already been discovered, be new and differently creative and can still leverage all the data they have," she said, making it so they cannot sever parts of their business.

It would make it impossible to reduce their market dominance based on whatever the Department of Justice suggests as remedies for the U.S. monopoly trials, Krum said.