OpenAI could buy Chrome amid Google antitrust case

OpenAI would consider acquiring Google’s Chrome browser if antitrust regulators compel Alphabet to sell it, according to testimony Tuesday from OpenAI executive Nick Turley, Reuters reported. 

The remarks were made during Google's antitrust trial, where the Justice Department is seeking structural changes to reintroduce competition in online search.

Last year, a judge ruled that Google held a monopoly in search and advertising. Although Google intends to appeal, it has not made Chrome available for sale.

Turley revealed that OpenAI had approached Google about using its search technology in ChatGPT due to reliability issues with their current provider. Google declined, citing competitive concerns. “We believe having multiple partners, and in particular Google’s API, would enable us to provide a better product to users,” OpenAI told Google, as shown in an email.

The rejection, sent in August, ended hopes for a collaboration. “We have no partnership with Google today,” Turley told the court.

He testified that the DOJ’s proposed remedies—such as forcing Google to share search data—could help OpenAI build better capabilities within ChatGPT. Turley admitted that ChatGPT is not yet capable of handling the majority of user queries independently.

Search remains crucial to ChatGPT, especially for delivering real-time and factual answers, Turley said.

The trial highlighted concerns that Google's monopoly in search could spill into artificial intelligence, creating further competitive advantages. Google disputes this, arguing the case is about search, not AI, and says competitors like Microsoft and Meta remain strong.

Judge Amit Mehta had previously found that Google relied on exclusive deals, including with Samsung, to protect its dominance. Documents also showed the company considered bundling Chrome, its Gemini AI app, and search in exclusive contracts.

While Google has since loosened those deals, making them non-exclusive with partners like AT&T and Verizon, the DOJ wants stricter restrictions, including ending paid placement arrangements.

Google executive Peter Fitzgerald testified that recent agreements allow room for rival AI tools on new devices, and that the company had reiterated this to partners as recently as last week.