Ironically, generative AI gave Google an advantage in the US antitrust proceedings

Generative AI has already changed the rules of the game in the search market, according to Judge Amit Mehta's ruling in the Google antitrust case. Mehta pointed out that "companies already are in a better position, both financially and technologically, to compete with Google than any traditional search company has been in decades (except perhaps Microsoft)." That shift helped Google avoid the toughest penalties in court, such as forcing the company to sell Chrome or a blanket prohibition of paid deals with Apple and Mozilla - both key demands the US Department of Justice had pushed for. Ironically, the same technology that was once seen as a threat to Google's search monopoly ended up working in Google's favor. Now, Google is moving forward with its core product, rolling out AI-powered agentic search worldwide.