The US tech giant Google will not be forced to divest Chrome or Android following the long-running US monopoly case.
Judge Mehta ruled that while Google holds a monopoly in traditional search, the rise of AI companies is creating new competitive pressures.
The judgement prevents Google from striking exclusive distribution deals but still allows it to pay partners for preloading and placement of its products. The court also ordered Google to loosen its control over search data, a move that could enable rivals to build their own AI-driven search tools.
Yet, concerns remain for e-commerce businesses.
Google Zero, the company’s AI-powered search summary, is cutting website traffic by keeping users within Google’s results.
Research shows sharp declines in mobile click-through rates, leaving online retailers uncertain of their future visibility.
Experts warn that zero-click searches are becoming the norm. Businesses are being urged to optimise for Google’s AI overviews, enhance the value of product and review pages, track traffic impacts, and diversify their marketing channels.
While Google has avoided structural remedies, its dominance in search and AI appears far from over.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
UK publishers warn that Google’s AI Overviews significantly cut website traffic, threatening fragile online revenues.
Reach, owner of the Mirror and Daily Express, said readers often settle for the AI summary instead of visiting its sites. DMG Media told regulators that click-through rates had fallen by up to 89% since the rollout.
Publishers argue that they provide accurate reporting that fuels Google’s search results, yet they see no financial return when users no longer click through. Concerns are growing over Google’s conversational AI Mode, which displays even fewer links.
Google insists that search traffic has remained stable year-on-year and claims that AI overviews offer users more opportunities to find quality links. Still, a coalition of publishers has filed a complaint with the UK Competition and Markets Authority, alleging misuse of their content.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
The US tech giant has expanded the capability of its Gemini app by allowing users to upload audio files for AI analysis across Android, iOS, and the web. The upgrade enables transcription of interviews, voice memos and lecture recordings instead of relying solely on typed or spoken prompts.
Free-tier users can upload clips of up to ten minutes with five prompts daily, while paid subscribers have access to three hours of uploads across multiple files. According to Gemini vice president Josh Woodward, the feature is designed to make the platform more versatile and practical for everyday tasks.
Google has also enhanced its Search AI mode with five new languages, including Hindi, Japanese and Korean, extending its multilingual reach.
NotebookLM, the company’s research assistant powered by Gemini, can now generate structured reports such as quizzes, study guides and blog posts from uploaded content, available in more than 80 languages.
These improvements underline Google’s ambition to integrate AI more deeply into everyday applications instead of leaving the technology confined to experimental tools. They also highlight growing competition in the AI market, with Google using Gemini 2.5 to expand its services for global users.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Google has announced an expansion of AI Mode in Search to five new languages, including Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean and Brazilian Portuguese. The feature was first introduced in English in March and aims to compete with AI-powered search platforms such as ChatGPT Search and Perplexity AI.
The company highlighted that building a global search experience requires more than translation. Google’s custom version of Gemini 2.5 uses advanced reasoning and multimodal capabilities to provide locally relevant and useful search results instead of offering generic answers.
AI Mode now also supports agentic tasks such as booking restaurant reservations, with plans to include local service appointments and event ticketing.
Currently, these advanced functions are available to Google AI Ultra subscribers in the US, while India received the rollout of the language expansion in July.
These developments reinforce Google’s strategy to integrate AI deeply into its search ecosystem, enhancing user experience across diverse regions instead of limiting sophisticated AI tools to English-language users.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
The European Commission fined Google nearly $3.5 billion after ruling that the company had abused its dominance in digital advertising. Regulators found that Google unfairly preferred its ad exchange, AdX, in its publisher ad server and ad-buying tools, which violated EU antitrust rules.
Officials ordered Google to end these practices within 60 days and to address what they described as ‘inherent conflicts of interest’ across the adtech supply chain. Teresa Ribera, the Commission’s executive vice president, said the case showed the need to ensure that digital markets serve the public fairly, warning that more potent remedies would follow if Google failed to comply.
Google announced it would appeal, arguing that its advertising services remain competitive and that businesses have more alternatives than ever. The fine marks the EU’s second-largest competition penalty, following a record $5 billion action against Google in 2018.
The ruling drew criticism from US President Donald Trump, who accused Europe of unfairly targeting American tech firms and threatened retaliatory measures.
Trump hosted a dinner with industry executives, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai and co-founder Sergey Brin, where he won praise for his policies on AI.
Meanwhile, Google secured partial relief in a separate antitrust case in the United States when a judge declined to impose sweeping remedies such as forcing the sale of Chrome or Android.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
A US district judge has declined to order a breakup of Google, softening the blow of a 2024 ruling that found the company had illegally monopolised online search.
The decision means Google can press ahead with its shift from a search engine into an answer engine, powered by generative AI.
Google’s AI Mode replaces traditional blue links with direct responses to queries, echoing the style of ChatGPT. While the feature is optional for now, it could become the default.
That alarms publishers, who depend on search traffic for advertising revenue. Studies suggest chatbots reduce referral clicks by more than 90 percent, leaving many sites at risk of collapse.
Google is also experimenting with inserting ads into AI Mode, though it remains unclear how much revenue will flow to content creators. Websites can block their data from being scraped, but doing so would also remove them from Google search entirely.
Despite these concerns, Google argues that competition from ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI tools shows that new rivals are reshaping the search landscape.
The judge even cited the emergence of generative AI as a factor that altered the case against Google, underlining how the rise of AI has become central to the future of the internet.
Would you like to learn more aboutAI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
Users reported search queries failing to return results, frozen pages, and an inability to connect to Google servers. Social media posts suggested the disruption extended beyond Türkiye, affecting users in Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Armenia, the Netherlands, and Germany.
The Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency confirmed outages across parts of Southeastern Europe. Turkish Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Omer Fatih Sayan, said the issue impacted Android and related services in Türkiye and the wider European region.
He added that the National Cyber Incident Response Centre had requested a technical report from Google and is monitoring the situation closely.
As of 10:57 a.m. local time, 4 September 2025, access to Google services in Türkiye had been restored. Google has yet to issue an official statement regarding the cause of the disruption.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
The action stems from CNIL’s 2019 guidelines, aimed at ensuring that internet users are adequately informed and give valid consent for the placement of cookies.
The CNIL’s restricted committee, responsible for imposing penalties, raised ongoing concerns such as unauthorised cookie placement and the growing use of ‘cookie walls’ where users must accept cookies to access services.
Although not illegal by default, such practices require consent, with all choices presented clearly and without bias.
In Google’s case, CNIL also cited a breach of Article L.34-5 of the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code for displaying promotional emails in Gmail’s ‘Promotions’ and ‘Social’ tabs without prior user consent. High-traffic platforms remain a key focus of the authority’s compliance strategy.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
The ruling, from US District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta, bars Google from entering or maintaining exclusive deals that tie the distribution of its search products, such as Search, Chrome, and Gemini, to other apps or revenue agreements.
The tech giant will also have to share specific search data with rivals and offer search and search ad syndication services to competitors at standard rates.
The ruling comes a year after Judge Mehta found that Google had illegally maintained its monopoly in online search. The Department of Justice brought the case and pushed for stronger measures, including forcing Google to sell off its Chrome browser and Android operating system.
It also sought to end Google’s lucrative agreements with companies like Apple and Samsung, in which it pays billions to be the default search engine on their devices. The judge acknowledged during the trial that these default placements were ‘extremely valuable real estate’ that effectively locked out rivals.
A final judgement has not yet been issued, as Judge Mehta has given Google and the Department of Justice until 10 September to submit a revised plan. A technical committee will be established to help enforce the judgement, which will go into effect 60 days after entry and last for six years.
Experts say the ruling may influence a separate antitrust trial against Google’s advertising technology business, and that the search case itself is likely to face a lengthy appeals process, stretching into 2028.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
The move follows months of user complaints about Google Home’s performance, including issues with connectivity and the assistant’s failure to recognise basic commands.
With Gemini’s superior ability to understand natural language, the upgrade is expected to improve how users interact with their smart devices significantly. Home devices should better execute complex commands with multiple actions, such as dimming some lights while leaving others on.
However, the update will also introduce ‘Gemini Live’ to compatible devices, a feature allowing for natural, back-and-forth conversations with the AI chatbot.
The Gemini for Google Home upgrade will initially be rolled out on an early access basis. It will be available in free and paid tiers, suggesting that some more advanced features may be locked behind a subscription.
The update is anticipated to make Google Home and Nest devices more reliable and to handle complex requests easily.
Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!
