Antitrust fallout: OpenAI may buy Chrome if up for sale, says ChatGPT head

Google Chrome. Image Source: Unsplash

OpenAI would be interested in acquiring Google Chrome if US antitrust enforcers force Alphabet to sell the popular browser, the head of ChatGPT has testified in a US court.

The revelation was made by Nick Turley On Tuesday in a landmark antitrust trial in Washington. 

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is pressing Google to divest key assets like its Chrome browser to restore competition in the online search market.

ChatGPT currently uses Microsoft's Bing, a distant rival to Google, as its integrated search engine. 

OpenAI had approached Google in July with a request to use its search API, stating that "having multiple partners, and in particular Google's API, would enable us to provide a better product to users" Turley testified. Google declined the proposal a month later, citing conflicts with competitors.

Prosecutors argued that Google's dominance in search also gives it an unfair edge in the emerging generative AI race. Turley, a witness for the government, supported the DOJ's proposal to make Google share search data with competitors, stating it would help improve the factual accuracy and freshness of ChatGPT's responses.

Though Google has not offered Chrome for sale and plans to appeal the court's monopoly finding, OpenAI sees potential in the browser as a distribution platform for its AI tools. Internally, however, OpenAI has downplayed Google's competitive threat. 

A company document shown at trial claimed ChatGPT was leading the consumer chatbot market and didn't view Google as its primary rival—though Turley testified that the document was meant to motivate employees.

OpenAI's role in the trial underscores the high stakes in both the search and AI sectors, where competition between Big Tech and AI startups is becoming increasingly cutthroat. 

All the same, OpenAI is also facing legal scrutiny of its own: Elon Musk recently filed a lawsuit accusing the company of straying from its nonprofit origins and consolidating power as a for-profit AI powerhouse.