Print desk·2026-08-16·.md
Google vs Microsoft: different books, same decade
Ads are still the book. Cloud is the growth line. YouTube and subscriptions sit under ads. Azure and Office. GitHub and OpenAI sit inside the cloud story.
Google leads on Advertising (75%). Microsoft leads on Intelligent Cloud (43%). The seat follows the slice that pays.
The mix
Hover a slice
- Advertising75%—
- Google Cloud13%43%
- Other12%7%
- Productivity—32%
- More Personal—18%
- GoogleMicrosoft
Ads are still the book. Cloud is the growth line. YouTube and subscriptions sit under ads.
Pays: Advertisers. Cloud customers. YouTube and Pixel on the side.
Builds: Search, ads, YouTube, Cloud, DeepMind / Gemini. The IC book is huge.
Azure and Office. GitHub and OpenAI sit inside the cloud story.
Pays: IT buyers. Developers on Azure and GitHub. Consumers on Windows / Xbox.
Builds: Azure, Office, GitHub, AI platform. PM and cloud IC are the volume seats.
The seat
Do not treat Google and Microsoft as one market. Search, ads, YouTube, Cloud, DeepMind / Gemini. The IC book is huge. That is not Azure, Office, GitHub, AI platform. PM and cloud IC are the volume seats. Name the book before the interview.