ChatGPT product lead Nick Turley says OpenAI would consider purchasing Google’s Chrome browser if the search and advertising giant is forced by the U.S. government to sell it. His comments came during testimony at a hearing that will determine the moves Google must make to remedy its antitrust violations, according to The Information.
The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) won an antitrust lawsuit against Google in 2024, with U.S. federal judge Amit Mehta ruling that Google holds a monopoly in the search and advertising business, in violation of U.S. antitrust laws. Now the DoJ wants Google to sell its Chrome browser.
Judge Mehta is now considering the punishment, as well as the remedies Google will face to resolve the situation.
In addition to possibly being required to divest itself of its popular Chrome browser, Google could also be required to provide rivals access to its search data.
DoJ lawyers had held up OpenAI as a tech company that has had its growth hindered, due to Google’s monopoly in the onine search industry. OpenAI made a request in 2024 to Google to use its search data to improve SearchGPT,but Google said no.
Turley testified that having access to the search giant’s real-time search data would allow OpenAI to “build a better product faster.”
Google is also expected to be projibited from making search exclusivity deals with Apple and other firms. For several years, Google has paid Apple billions of dollars per year to keep its position as the default engine for Apple’s Safari browser, which is the default browser on the iOS, iPadOS, and Mac platforms. As you might imagine, a deal like that provides Google with a significant advantage over other search providers.
While Apple executives maintain that Google is the best search option for its users, the company’s optinion on the subject may be influenced just a bit by the 36% cut of Google’s ad revenue that Apple receives from Google for searches performed in the Safari browser.
The DoJ has also recommended that Google divest itself of its Android platform, but says it would take those steps only if the other proposed remedies do not prove to be effective at preventing Google’s monopoly.
