OpenAI Willing to Buy Chrome Browser If Google Forced to Sell It

An OpenAI representative has told a court that the company is interested in buying the Chrome browser if Google is forced to sell it. ChatGPT product chief Nick Turley made the statement as part of the US antitrust case against Google. Authorities believe that spinning off Chrome would help weaken the corporation’s dominance in the search services market.

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Judge Amit Mehta previously ruled that Google has a monopoly on online search, and possible measures to curb its influence are now being considered. The company intends to appeal the ruling, but if the court rules that Chrome should be sold, OpenAI is ready to become a buyer, The Verge reports, citing Reuters.

It also emerged that OpenAI had tried to partner with Google last year to allow ChatGPT to use its search technology. The network currently gets its data from Microsoft’s Bing search engine, but Turley noted that the company has “serious quality issues” with the search provider. “We believe that collaborating with Google would help us improve our product,” OpenAI said in a letter submitted to the court. However, Google declined the partnership.

At the same time, OpenAI continues to develop its own search engine, but the initial plan for ChatGPT to be able to rely on its search for most queries (about 80%) by 2025 turned out to be too optimistic. It will probably take several years to reach that goal.

Experts believe that OpenAI’s interest in Chrome is not just about search, but also about long-term strategy, and that owning the browser would give the company direct access to users and data, strengthening its position in competition with Google and Microsoft. In the meantime, a judge must decide whether Google will be forced to split up and Chrome will become an independent asset.

If Chrome does go up for sale, OpenAI will be among the leading contenders, but it’s possible that other major players will also fight for it.