Google Says It Won't Force Gemini on Partners in Antitrust Remedy Proposal

If Google's generative AI Gemini Assistant chatbot is to surpass OpenAI's ChatGPT in popularity in the coming years, it may have to do so without some of the promotional partnerships that helped thrust Google search front and center into Americans' lives. In a US federal court filing on Friday, Google proposed a series of restrictions that for three years would bar the company from requiring its device manufacturer, browser, and wireless carrier licensees to distribute Gemini to their US users. Google also would give those partners more flexibility in how they set their default search provider for their users. Google's proposal counters last month's call from the US Justice Department for Google to not only loosen its grip over partners, but also share more data with competitors and divest its Chrome browser business. The company on Friday formally rejected the idea of selling off any piece of its business or turning over more information to rivals. And its proposed restrictions could be construed as narrower than those sought by the government.