Alphabet became the parent of Google after a 2015 corporate restructuring.
Before the restructuring, Google operated a wide range of projects, including its core search business, advertising, Android, and experimental ventures. The new holding-company structure placed Google under Alphabet and grouped several other businesses separately.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin created Alphabet as a way to give individual ventures greater independence while keeping overall ownership connected. Sundar Pichai became Google's CEO, and Page became Alphabet's CEO.
This distinction matters because Google and Alphabet are not interchangeable names. Google remains the best-known operating company, while Alphabet is the publicly traded parent. The arrangement is also different from a brand rename: Alphabet did not replace Google as the name of the search engine.