By Friday, closing arguments will be delivered in a case that could force Alphabet’s Google to sell its Chrome browser and halt multibillion-dollar deals that lock in its search engine as the default on mobile devices.
At the heart of this case is a federal judge’s finding that Google operates an illegal monopoly in search and search-related advertising.
Now, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and more than a dozen states are pushing for far-reaching remedies they believe are necessary to restore real competition, measures that Google says would fundamentally damage its business and hand over its advantages to competitors.
Judge Amit Mehta, who is overseeing the case, has already made it clear that the monopoly exists. What remains is how to dismantle it, or at least weaken its grip.
If approved, the proposals could bar Google from making exclusive search deals with device makers, force it to hand over valuable search data to rivals, and break off its Chrome browser into a separate company.
OpenAI, which has already shaken up the search space with ChatGPT, is eyeing a strategic opening. “If the judge requires Google to sell Chrome, we would be interested,” said Nick Turley, head of product for ChatGPT at OpenAI.
That was a statement of intent. Turley added that gaining access to Google’s search data would make ChatGPT’s responses “more accurate and more up to date.”
Beyond market share, this trial is about the rules of competition as search and artificial intelligence are converging. Google, with around 90% of the search market, argues the DOJ’s proposals are unjustified.
It insists that recent changes, such as allowing Samsung and other manufacturers more flexibility to preload rival search and AI apps, show it’s already opening the door to competitors.
But the DOJ isn’t convinced. It wants the judge to go further. One target is Google’s financial arrangements with Apple, which are worth up to $20 billion a year.
These payments keep Google as the default search engine on Safari, a powerful advantage on iPhones and iPads. Ending or restricting those deals could cost both companies billions and shift how users access information.
Court documents revealed that Google has begun paying Samsung and Motorola to pre-install Gemini, its AI assistant, on devices, a move the DOJ says is an attempt to dominate the next generation of search.
Interestingly, Apple may already be preparing for a post-Google world. An Apple executive testified that Google searches via Safari have dropped for the first time in two decades. Apple is now exploring alternative options, ChatGPT and Perplexity, within its browser, pointing at a major change in user experience expected next year.
While Google claims that total searches on Apple devices are still rising, the company is not standing still. Last week, it began rolling out “AI Mode” in the United States, a radical change that answers questions with conversational responses instead of blue links. This could be the biggest shift in how we interact with Google since its launch.
William Kovacic, a former Federal Trade Commission chair and antitrust law professor, pointed out the complexity of the situation: “A formidable question that hovers over the entire proceeding is how should the judge take account of emerging developments and the technology that affect the fortunes of all of these companies.”
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has also noted that the company wants to remain embedded in Apple’s ecosystem. He said he hopes to secure a new deal allowing Apple to use Gemini, Google’s AI model, as part of Safari search responses, right alongside ChatGPT.
Mehta’s decision is expected by August. Depending on his ruling, the search engine as we know it may not survive in its current form.
