Warren Buffett piled into Alphabet to bet big on AI, successor Greg Abel says

Warren Buffett is Berkshire Hathaway's chairman and former CEO.

Bloomberg/Getty Images Warren Buffett bet big on Alphabet to gain exposure to the AI boom, Greg Abel says.

Berkshire Hathaway's new CEO said Buffett is still weighing in on big decisions at the company.

Abel said he consulted with Buffett before taking part in Alphabet's stock offering this year.

Warren Buffett bet on Alphabet to tap into the AI boom, and he's still helping to call the shots at Berkshire Hathaway, Greg Abel says.

The legendary investor was succeeded by Abel at the start of this year after nearly six decades as Berkshire's CEO.

During a rare on-air interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Abel shed light on Buffett's surprising tech bet and his ongoing role as chairman .

The Berkshire CEO explained why Buffett built a nearly $38 billion stake in Alphabet from scratch in under a year.

Google's parent company was the third-largest position in Berkshire's stock portfolio at the end of June .

Abel pointed to AI's material impact on businesses and beyond, Berkshire having a " lot of visibility " into AI and its benefits through its myriad subsidiaries, and Alphabet being a "significant player" in the space.

"Now there's a lot more to Google than what I just said in why we like it, but those were the fundamental reasons as to why we took a serious look at Google, and now have a significant investment in it," Abel said.

Berkshire bolstered its Alphabet stake earlier this year by participating in a private placement.

Abel said Berkshire was invited in late May to take part, and he promptly called Buffett to discuss the opportunity.

Consulting with his predecessor was "very much consistent with how we manage Berkshire," Abel said.