As one of Google's earliest search pioneers steps down and the company's leader in artificial intelligence takes his place, analysts say the move signals the company's desire to make its search engine more sophisticated. 

Google parent Alphabet Inc said on Wednesday that Amit Singhal, the longtime chief of its Internet search business, will retire. He will be replaced by John Giannandrea, the vice president of engineering who heads its efforts in machine learning, the process in which computers improve performance by analyzing users' actions. Singhal joined Google in 2000, two years after the company was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. During his tenure Google developed Adwords, the technology that targets ads based on users' searches and one of its biggest moneymakers. 

His last day at the company is on February 26. In a blog post announcing the move, Singhal said he will spend the next 15 years giving back to "people who are less fortunate." 

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