If the Murdochs can be attacked by barbarians at the gate wielding AI weapons, then all businesses have to be on guard.

Recently after a court battle and family settlement Rupert Murdoch was able to pass control of his beloved media and diversified business empire built on News Corp and Fox Corp to his son Lachlan. But now Lachlan has been crowned the winner in his battle with his siblings, News Corp’s crowning glory looks set to be threatened by AI and Google!

And if the Murdochs can be attacked by the barbarians at the gate wielding AI weapons, then all businesses have to be on guard.

To date, the attack on News Corp’s jewel in the crown that is REA Group, which owns rea.com.au hasn’t begun, but Google is set to take on REA’s US rival Zillow and its share price was crushed overnight, down 9%.

CNBC has reported that “Google appears to be running tests on putting real estate sale listings into its search results. The listings allowed users to view the full details of a property’s page, request a tour and contact an agent — similar to the functions offered on Zillow.com’s online marketplace portal. Google’s home searches appear to work only in select markets and on mobile devices as testing is underway.”

So, while it’s early days, it is a sign of what lies ahead, with competitive corporate rivals armed with brilliant tech nerds will start thinking how AI can copy and even improve business processes that lie at the heart of an operation’s profit.

This isn’t a threat to the likes of Lachlan Murdoch but all shareholders in companies that could be challenged by AI. It’s going to be an enormous test for company leaders. And it’s only just starting. It echoes the words of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who last week said the following: “AI is the most important thing going on. Does it mean all these companies with high valuations will be winners? No, it’s going to be hyper competitive.

“AI is only a bubble in the sense that not all of these valuations will end up going up. Some of them will go down. AI is a deeply profound technology that will reshape the world. There’s not the slightest doubt about that.”

All this comes as REA is hailed as a big deal for the profits of News Corp. In August this year, the property website business made a profit of $564.4 million, which was a 23% increase, though it’s more than a portal.

Digital Real Estate Services business (which includes REA Group) generated $US1.3 billion in total revenues for News Corp, marking a 32% year-over-year increase. This has been seen as a business with real potential to keep growing. The fact that News owns 61.4% was seen as one of Lachlan’s best business plays, after buying out the 25% holding of his friend James Packer’s share of REA Group for $150 million.

Packer has acknowledged that he did himself out of $2 billion profit by selling his share to News Corp. For the record, REA Group has a market cap of $25 billion. So, a quarter of that is over $6 billion!

But now REA and News Corp not only have to fight the likes of Google, which wants to eat its luscious ‘lunch’, it has to see how AI can cut costs and improve its services.

Right now, the analysts like REA’s future. So does TenCap fund manager Jun Bei Liu, who last night on my TV show said she liked the company going forward. And this is what FNArena found when it surveyed the analysts:

Collectively these analysts see a 35.6% rise in the stock. But were these expert watchers of listed companies aware of this potential Google attack on Zillow? And ultimately if it works in the US, the giant of search will come to Australia.

While I suspect the big brand name and dominance of rea.com.au will give Murdoch a competitive advantage, his jewel in the crown on News Corp will have to be protected from those barbarians at the gates. And these AI-armed enemies of many successful companies we invest in have to learn that they can’t be complacent.

As Bill Gates warned: “AI is a deeply profound technology that will reshape the world.”

REA might have time on its side with CNBC reporting that “Wells Fargo analyst Alec Brondolo, who has an equal weight rating on Zillow, said he would not ‘expect a meaningful financial impact from listings on Google shifting from organic to paid’ — given that Zillow is not overly dependent on organic search results for traffic.”

While that might be right now, Lachlan Murdoch and other leaders of public and private companies can’t treat the threat of AI with complacency. They will have to use it or lose it!