OpenAI eyes Google Chrome: a bold move to recode the future of search

By Mofeoluwa Awe

OpenAI has announced its interest in acquiring Google Chrome if antitrust authorities succeed in forcing Alphabet to sell the popular web browser. A move that has signaled a potential shake-up in the tech industry.

The shocking revelation was made in Washington during Google’s ongoing antitrust trial. The Department of Justice is looking to break up Google’s monopoly on online search and advertising, and Chrome is one of the potential assets.

Nick Turley, Head of Product at ChatGPT, testified that OpenAI approached Google last year to discuss a partnership via access to its search API. What’s the goal? To enable a more accurate and real-time ChatGPT experience. But Google said no thanks, citing competition concerns.

Now, if the DOJ is successful in forcing Google to open up or spin off important assets such as Chrome, OpenAI is ready to strike. Not out of ambition, but because of necessity.

Turley made it obvious that search remains a significant shortcoming for ChatGPT. Without real-time data, AI struggles to provide quick, factual replies. While ChatGPT is improving, it is still unable to replace traditional search engines for the vast majority of user searches. Owning a browser like Chrome might change that quickly.

The lawsuit also reveals how Google has maintained its dominance through exclusive arrangements, default settings, and ecosystem control. Even as Google opens up to rivals such as Samsung and Verizon, the DOJ wants tighter limitations, including a possible prohibition on pre-installation payments that exclude competitors.

This moment is about more than simply antitrust. It’s about the future of how we use the internet. If OpenAI takes over Chrome, we’re looking at more than just a browser switch, we’re looking at a whole redesign of search, built from the ground up around AI.

And maybe that is the point. Why battle for space in a congested market when you can build one in which competition is irrelevant?