ChatGPT makes history—it saves Google by radically transforming the perception of the search market in the antitrust trial against the company – Unión Rayo
Chat GPT makes history—it saves Google by radically transforming the perception of the search market in the antitrust trial against the company
Who would have thought that ChatGPT would save Google at some point? Well, the ruling in the United States v. Google case has become one of the most important in the history of technology. Although it was confirmed that the company maintains a monopoly in the search business, the punishment has been much lighter than expected. The reason? Judge Amit Metha mentioned the same word 133 times in his ruling: AI. Wow.
It is a generative artificial intelligence system, just like many others that have appeared in recent years. Unlike traditional search engines, which offer links to web pages, these tools deliver direct and personalized answers, and they have become the most influential technological revolution of the last decade, transforming the way millions of users search and interact with information on the Internet.
Three years ago, Google could have faced harsher penalties, even the sale of Chrome, but AI has softened the verdict and Google, paradoxically, has been saved thanks to its biggest threat.
The ruling recognizes that generative AI technologies are transforming search engines, and that services like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, or Google’s own Gemini are redefining the search experience.
And now there is no longer a list of links to click, there are AI Overviews (AI-generated answers that gather information from several sources).
Even Google’s new AI Mode proposes conversational searches, where it is no longer about clicking on a link, but about dialoguing with the system.
Judge Metha ruled out drastic measures such as forcing Google to sell Chrome, that was too much. So he decided that the company must share search data with its competitors and limit exclusivity contracts with partners like Apple.
“Google remains the dominant firm in the relevant product [search] markets. No rival has managed to fight Google’s market share. And no new competitor has entered the market. But artificial intelligence technologies, in particular generative AI (“GenAI”), may end up changing the rules of the game.”
It is an unprecedented decision: justice recognizes that competition no longer depends only on browsers and links, but on the ability to integrate generative AI into the search experience.
From DuckDuckGo, Gabriel Weinberg believes that the ruling still allows Google to maintain a dominant position that limits true free competition, even in the AI field.
Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic, was even more critical, comparing the ruling to sentencing a bank robber to probation, allowing him to keep robbing as long as he shares how he does it with other robbers.
It’s like a defendant robbed a series of banks and the court verdict found them guilty, then sentenced them to probation under which they may continue robbing banks but must share data on how they rob banks with competing bank robbers.
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) September 2, 2025
Beyond saying it is an “innovation,” the reality is that this ruling does not answer absolutely any of the accusations.
Google has escaped the fine, and has lost much less than it could have, but now it will have to sharpen its aim because a new stage in the technological era is coming. AI has opened the doors, but Google’s monopoly is no longer untouchable!
© 2025 Unión Rayo
© 2025 Unión Rayo
