How antitrust case against Google may hurt company’s AI products

Google’s bet on artificial intelligence (AI) may be under threat as the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has argued that Google’s alleged dominance in online search poses a significant threat to fair competition in the flourishing AI market. A DOJ attorney asserted that without stringent measures, the tech giant could leverage its AI products to further establish its search monopoly.
According to news agency Reuters, DOJ attorney David Dahlquist is pushing for remedies designed to foster competition in the evolving search environment, particularly as it increasingly intersects with generative AI products such as ChatGPT.
“This court's remedy should be forward-looking and not ignore what is on the horizon,” Dahlquist said, adding that Google's established search monopoly provides an unfair advantage in the development and improvement of its AI products.
Conversely, these AI products can also serve as a strategic avenue to funnel users back to its dominant search engine, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of market control, he added.

Countering the DOJ's arguments, Google's lawyer, John Schmidtlein, dismissed the proposed remedies as “a wishlist for competitors looking to get the benefits of Google's extraordinary innovations.” He argued that AI competitors are “competing just fine” and are seeking “handouts.”
AI competitors “would like handouts as well even though they are competing just fine,” he said.
Google contends that its AI products fall outside the purview of the current antitrust case, which primarily focuses on traditional search engines.
In a blog post published on Sunday, Google executive Lee-Anne Mulholland asserted that adopting the proposed remedies “would hold back American innovation at a critical juncture.”
Antitrust enforcers have put forward a series of potentially transformative measures aimed at rapidly opening up the search market and providing a competitive edge to newcomers. These proposals include terminating Google's exclusive default search agreements with major tablet and smartphone manufacturers like Apple.