OpenAI‘sโฃ Actions May Have Shielded Google From Antitrust Scrutiny
WASHINGTON – A seriesโฃ of moves by OpenAI, including theโฃ release of its GPT models and strategic partnerships, may have inadvertentlyโค lessened theโข pressure on Google, perhaps averting a Department of โคJustice (DOJ) breakup, according to documents unsealed September โ2, 2025, in the ongoing antitrust caseโ against the tech giant.the unsealed filings suggest the DOJ considered a structural remedy – forcing Google to spin off parts of its business – before OpenAI’s rapid โadvancements reshaped the competitive landscape.
The DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit, filed in January 2023, alleges โคGoogle illegally maintains โmonopolies in search andโฃ search advertising. Internal โคDOJ discussions, revealed in court filings,โข indicate officials initially believed Google’s dominance was insurmountable.However, OpenAI’s emergence as โa significant competitor, especially with the November 2022 launch of โChatGPT and subsequent releases of more powerful models, altered that assessment.The filings detail โhow the โDOJ reevaluated its potential remedies, factoring in OpenAI’s growing influence and the increased viability of option search technologies.
specifically, the DOJ explored whether a breakup of Google’s advertising businesses was necessary to โrestore competition. Theโค documents show the agency considered separating Google’s ad exchange, Ad Manager, โfrom its search engine. However, the riseโ of AI-powered search, spearheaded by OpenAI and later adopted byโ Microsoft’s Bing, presented a new competitive dynamic. The DOJ concluded that a breakupโ might be โฃlessโ effective inโค fostering competition if AI-driven search engines could challenge Google’s core search business.
“The competitive threat from openai andโค other AI companies has changed the calculus,” one redacted DOJ memo stated, according to the filings. โค”A structural remedy may be less necessaryโ if the market is evolving rapidly.”
The case is ongoing, with a trial scheduled for September 2026. The unsealed documents offer a rare glimpse into the internal โdeliberations of the DOJ and the impact of technological innovation on antitrust enforcement. The outcome โขof the โcase could have far-reaching implications for the future of the search industry and the regulation of bigโ tech companies.