The role of Google’s multibillion-dollar default search engine deals in obtaining a dominant hold on the market was confirmed by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella during his testimony at the landmark antitrust trial. Nadella dismissed Google’s claim that default search engine settings are easily changeable, stating that “Defaults is the only thing that matters in changing search behavior.” He emphasized Google’s dominant position, comparing it to brushing your teeth in the morning. The Justice Department has accused Google of making substantial payments to smartphone makers and carriers to ensure its search engine remains the default option, resulting in a 90% market share.
Nadella revealed that Microsoft has invested over $100 billion in its search engine, Bing, in an unsuccessful attempt to challenge Google’s dominance. He cited search as the largest software category and expressed Microsoft’s determination to contribute to it. Nadella also claimed that Apple has discussed a potential default search engine deal with Microsoft, aiming to drive up the price paid by Google to retain that status. Judge Amit Mehta asked Nadella why Apple would consider switching to Bing when it is considered lower quality, suggesting the judge’s interest in Google’s argument regarding the role of quality in its dominance.
Nadella stated that Microsoft believes its Bing engineers can bridge the quality gap by utilizing the number of queries made on Apple smartphones. He also mentioned that Google could extend its lead in the market by incorporating artificial intelligence into its search engine. Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI and its integration of the technology into Bing was compared to Google’s use of its own “large-language model” program, Bard.
Google’s attorneys have defended the company by stating that customers choose its search engine due to its superior quality, not because it is set as the default option on their devices. Nadella’s testimony followed a previous appearance by Jon Tinter, a vice president at Microsoft, who revealed that the company had considered a deal for default search engine status on Apple’s Safari web browser, despite the potential multibillion-dollar loss, solely to increase Bing’s market share.
The trial continues with Google facing the largest antitrust trial in more than two decades.
With Post wires
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