The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is moving from words to action: its ongoing antitrust case against Google has expanded to include AI-related charges.
At the center is Google’s strategy for promoting its Gemini AI assistant, which the DOJ claims is “strikingly similar” to its past practices in search engine dominance.
According to court documents, Google is paying billions to device manufacturers (including Samsung) to make Gemini the default assistant — much like it once secured search priority.
The DOJ argues that this model distorts competition, stifles innovation, and squeezes out alternative AI providers before they can establish a market presence.
More strikingly, the DOJ’s proposed remedies include:
Banning default status payments,
Requiring Google to license search data to competitors,
Allowing websites to exclude their content from Google’s AI training,
And, in extreme cases, forcing Google to divest Chrome or even Android if other measures fail.
This is no longer about minor adjustments — it’s a direct threat to dismantle key Google assets if it refuses to change its ways.
At stake is not just the distribution model for AI products, but the entire architecture of digital competition in the AGI era.
The outcome could be a turning point:
Either AI remains a domain monopolized by super-infrastructures, or the market opens up for diversity and distributed innovation.
Google has so far refrained from public comment, but one thing is clear:
Antitrust enforcement has entered a new phase, and this time it’s not just about search — it’s about the very future of artificial intelligence.
