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To give competitors a leg up, the government wants Google to share the search index and data it collects about users when deciding which results to display. The argument is that potential competitors will then be able to match the wealth of information Google has gathered over decades studying the behavioral patterns of its billions of users. In addition, Colorado’s attorney general suggested in Wednesday’s filing that Google subsidize “reasonable, short-term payments” to users who chose non-Google default search engines.
In addition to scrapping Chrome, Google will be barred from launching a new browser or investing in search, ad technology, and AI competitors for five to 10 years. The government says the restrictions will “encourage innovation and transform traditional search ad markets over the next decade.”
Rauch, Vercel’s CEO, believes that Google is unfairly using Chrome to direct people to its AI chatbot, Gemini, and other services it owns, such as Google Docs, through a combination of flexibility and incentives built into the engine. its search. “Google is reaping all the benefits it can have by controlling this very important piece of software infrastructure,” Rauch said.
Converting Chrome to a neutral host like a nonprofit or educational institution, Rauch says, would open up the search box on the world’s most popular browser and give people access to a host of alternatives. Chrome already allows users to change their default search provider, but Google still nudges users with notifications as they browse. “I would imagine, in a world where people are more equipped with choice than automation, that many consumers would end up choosing Perplexity or ChatGPT, and today it’s a very circular thing,” Rausch said.
But financial and legal analysts have expressed doubts about how much the government’s proposals can actually achieve. Former Google executives who spoke to WIRED are also skeptical. Rajen Sheth, who oversaw parts of Chrome’s business and now owns a software startup for building online courses, says users are gravitating toward familiarity in what he believes has become an open marketplace. “Given the state of technology and different instruments, are there things that will make a difference? It will be difficult,” he said.
Gaining access to Google’s proprietary data and having the opportunity to interview iPhone users could help increase the likelihood that people will turn to other search engines. But Google also has unparalleled computing infrastructure, unique data from sibling services like Maps, and more than a quarter century of brand and consumer recognition. “No matter how you scale the platform, people will go to the best product for the job,” said the former Chrome business leader.
Former Google executives say that what will replace the company one day is not another traditional search engine, but something like ChatGPT that presents content to users in a more interactive way. That new technology hasn’t been fully developed yet, but it could happen when the federal lawsuit against Google is finally settled. That means Google’s position in the market could look very different before the judge’s order goes into effect.
Update 2:22 EST 11/21/24 This story has been updated with comments from Google, DuckDuckGo, and additional details from the court filing.
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