Tech giant Alphabet (GOOG 1.92%) (GOOGL 1.87%) has some explaining to do -- or at least, many investors and analysts think so. The company's largest source of revenue is advertising, especially from its market-leading search engine Google. However, it is now dealing with the genuine threat that artificial intelligence (AI) will bring about a new era in online search, making its famous search engine a lot less popular.

Even so, it would be a mistake to write off a company like Alphabet so quickly. Let's look at three reasons the stock remains a buy. 

1. Alphabet's own AI ambitions 

For those who have yet to try ChatGPT, I'd recommend doing so. The AI chatbot is surprisingly savvy and can answer questions, even complex ones, accurately. It isn't that ChatGPT or any of its competitors are perfect -- far from it. However, increasingly better versions will continue to debut. 

Microsoft recently announced it was releasing an AI-powered version of its Bing search engine, showing how the technology could disrupt Google's empire. In the first quarter, Google advertising revenue came in at $54.5 billion, remaining almost flat compared to the prior-year period. It accounted for 78% of Alphabet's total revenue. But here is why investors shouldn't worry.

First, the switch to AI-powered internet search won't happen overnight. Google has created such a massive competitive advantage, including strong name recognition, that getting people to stop "Googling" things will almost certainly take a while.

Google remains the single most visited website in the world by a reasonably large margin. Second, Alphabet is aware of this threat to its business, and the company isn't sitting on its laurels. Alphabet has long been working on various AI tools for years. The company released its own AI chatbot called Bard earlier this year.

Although the public launch of Bard was disappointing, the point is that Alphabet isn't miles behind its competitors in this race. And given the company's long track record of innovation, Alphabet isn't in nearly as much trouble as some people think. As CEO Sundar Pichai said during its first-quarter earnings conference call: "We'll continue to incorporate generative AI advances to make Search better in a thoughtful and deliberate way. We'll be guided by data and years of experience about what people want and our high standards for quality."

Alphabet is far from losing its lead in internet search.

2. YouTube represents an exciting opportunity 

Alphabet's Google ad revenue failed to show meaningful growth in the first quarter because the online advertising market remains down. The company's YouTube ads are seeing a similar trend. The video-sharing platform's sales declined by 2.6% year over year to $6.7 billion. Companies decreased ad spending amid an economic slowdown.

And with the U.S. Federal Reserve predicting a mild recession, perhaps this headwind will continue to buffet Alphabet well into next year. But the platform is arguably still in the early innings of its growth story. The way people consume television content has been transforming for years; streaming is on the rise.

Now, YouTube isn't strictly speaking comparable to streaming services such as Netflix since it offers videos created by independent third parties.

Still, YouTube's share of television viewing time currently rivals that of Netflix, which is the leader in streaming. In March, YouTube accounted for 7.8% of television viewing time in the U.S., compared to Netflix's 7.3%, according to the media analytics company Nielsen. 

As people keep cutting the cord and switching to more versatile modes of watching content, YouTube's share of TV time will increase, along with its ad-related revenue. 

3. Google Cloud is performing well

Alphabet's cloud business is another promising area of growth for the company. It is one of the leaders in the cloud industry, where it trails only Microsoft and Amazon. In the first quarter, the company's Google Cloud revenue increased by 28% year over year to $7.5 billion. It was the fastest area of growth for Alphabet.

What's just as important is that Google Cloud turned in an operating profit of $191 million in Q1, compared to a loss of $706 million during the year-ago period. It was the first time Google cloud turned an operating profit, which is a good sign for the future, considering the industry is projected to grow rapidly in the coming years.

Looking beyond recent issues

Alphabet still relies on advertising for most of its revenue. And once the online ad market rebounds, so should the company's top-line growth across Google and YouTube.

The threat from AI shouldn't sink Alphabet's business over the long run given its innovative capabilities. Furthermore, its cloud business will be a significant source of growth for a long time. These are all good reasons why investors can still safely bet on Alphabet.