Google CEO Downplays Facebook Threat, Highlights Bing Challenge - WSJ.com

Apparently non-joke observations from the Googleplex

In an interview with Charlie Rose to be aired Friday night on the PBS network, Schmidt said Bing is "doing well" and is owned by a company that has more cash and engineers than Google and has a "storied reputation of technology innovation."

Google's share of U.S. search queries has for the past several months held steady at about 65%, with Bing coming in around 11% in August, according to comScore. Combining queries from Bing and Yahoo (YHOO)--which are just launching their search pact--gives the duo a 28% share in U.S. search, still far behind Google.

While many in Silicon Valley consider Facebook to be Google's key rival, Schmidt said the two Web giants "coexist quite well" in the marketplace right now. "We studied very carefully the impact with Facebook and Facebook users use Google more, so we love Facebook for that reason," said Schmidt, according to a transcript of the interview released Friday.

Google CEO Downplays Facebook Threat, Highlights Bing Challenge - WSJ.com