Alphabet Inc.’s Google is once again under intense legal fire as a U.S. District Judge questions the future of internet search amid the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence. During closing arguments in the high-stakes antitrust trial on Friday, Judge Amit Mehta challenged the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to define whether the AI revolution should be seen as a transformative force in online search or whether a new generation of search engines could realistically emerge.
Judge Mehta, who previously ruled that Google illegally monopolized the search and digital advertising market, is now weighing how much the industry has changed since the lawsuit was filed five years ago. With tech giants like OpenAI and startups such as Perplexity gaining momentum in AI-powered information access, Mehta is probing the viability of these platforms as potential competitors to Google Search.
His pointed question; “Do you think someone is going to come off the sidelines and build a new general search engine in light of what we are seeing?”-highlights growing judicial concern over whether Google’s dominance can be truly challenged in the AI era.
DOJ attorney David Dahlquist responded that search engines are not going away, but warned that Google’s current position allows it to obstruct emerging AI rivals. The DOJ is demanding aggressive remedies that go beyond Google’s voluntary concessions, which include ending exclusive deals with phone makers and carriers that previously blocked competing search apps.
During the hearing, Google’s lead attorney John Schmidtlein admitted that generative AI is altering how people access information. However, he argued that the company has already taken steps to level the playing field by allowing device manufacturers like Samsung to preload rival AI and search apps. Still, the DOJ and several state attorneys general are pushing for deeper structural changes, including a possible divestiture of the Chrome browser, the release of search data, and an end to Google’s multi-billion-dollar default search deals with Apple and other tech giants.
OpenAI, creators of ChatGPT, have also taken center stage in the debate. Nick Turley, the company’s product lead, testified that OpenAI is still years away from reaching its goal of answering 80% of user queries through its own AI-powered search technology. Turley suggested that access to Google’s search data would significantly enhance ChatGPT’s capabilities and even expressed interest in acquiring Chrome, should it be up for sale.
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But Judge Mehta questioned whether AI companies like OpenAI or Perplexity truly fit the mold of direct competitors in the general search engine market. Addressing DOJ attorney Adam Severt, Mehta remarked, “It seems to me that you want to introduce this other technology into the definition of general search engine markets in a way that I am not sure quite fits.”
Severt defended the DOJ’s stance, emphasizing that while the original case focused on past misconduct, any proposed remedies must be forward-looking and reflect how AI is reshaping user behavior.
Schmidtlein pushed back, arguing that it would be unfair to hand over proprietary technology that Google has spent two decades perfecting. “Coming to Google and asking for a handout when they are the market leader seems completely disproportionate to what this case is about,” he stated.
With a final ruling expected by August, the outcome could redefine not only Google’s dominance in the digital search market but also the role of AI in shaping the future of how information is accessed online. As the world watches, the courtroom battle may signal the beginning of a new chapter—one where AI-powered challengers could finally disrupt the search engine status quo.
