Google Search reached a new record for queries per second during the World Cup, according to the company, as interest in the tournament drove unusually heavy traffic to the service.
The peak came after Argentina’s victory over Egypt in a knockout-round match on Tuesday, when searches surged immediately following the decisive goal. A Google spokesperson said the company saw the most queries per second right after the winning score, while Nick Fox, who leads Google’s Knowledge and Information unit, said Search broke all previous usage records after Argentina’s goal.
Google did not disclose the exact figure behind the record. The company said the most searched term after the match was “argentina vs egypt,” and it also saw global searches including “argentina x colombia,” “how many world cup goals does messi have,” “what is it called when a player hits another player in game,” and “is it messi’s last world cup.”
The milestone comes as Google faces pressure to show that its core search business remains strong even as AI chatbots gain traction. Despite that competition, Google still holds about 90% of the search market, and Alphabet’s shares have more than doubled over the past year.
Source: cnbc.com
