CANNES — Google’s Nikesh Arora said the search giant’s core product is nowhere near its full potential while touting the company as a force for good.
“Search is five percent of where it should be,” Arora, the company’s top business development executive, told a rapt audience Tuesday at the Cannes Lions advertising festival.
He noted that 99 percent of searches don’t go beyond Google’s first page of results.
Arora then showed a demo video of a user asking his phone questions while pointing it at a set of buildings: “What church is this? What time does this restaurant open? And show me photos inside this hotel.”
He also portrayed Google — whose unofficial motto is “don’t be evil” — as a good corporate citizen that puts people first.
“It’s not about customer segments or targets, it’s about serving the world,” he said. “We don’t ask will it be economically profitable; we ask will it be useful for humanity.”
Arora pointed to several innovations that could help people in their day-to-day lives, including:
- a new diabetes test that requires a tear drop not blood to analyze blood sugar;
- a balloon that brings Internet service to remote locals;
- a pair of Google Glass smart specs that helped a disabled girl go camping;
- driverless cars that allow moms to chat with their kids.