Yes, Google is almost a monopolist, but selling Chrome won’t improve the situation.

GoogleThe Chrome browser is dominant; not like the Google search engine, but in 67% market share, according to Stat Counter, it sits comfortably among rivals like Safari, Edge and Opera, which are mostly fighting for leftovers.

For the US government, which is now calling for Google to break up Because of the sales of Chrome and perhaps Android, it’s not so much market share that matters, but rather how Chrome acts as a powerful anchor for Google’s other interests, chief among them maximizing advertising revenue.

Here’s how it works. Chrome is a web browser similar to Safari and others, but it is also a search engine interface. The default search engine when Chrome is installed on your computer or smartphone is naturally Google. These days, few people enter websites into the browser’s address bar alone (so called because we only had to put the “address” or URL of the desired website there). Now we use the browser’s address bar as the tooltip fields. This is true; Long before the advent of artificial intelligence, we entered fully formed sentences and invariably received clever answers from the powerful Google search engine.

I’ve argued here and elsewhere that Google’s dominance in search comes through quality, not coercion.

That’s not all we got. If I type, “Where can I find the best mattresses?” into Chrome’s address bar, Google search instantly returns a page of results. I estimate that “sponsored” links take up 95% of the results on desktop web pages. I have to scroll down to maybe the fourth result to see some suggestions from The New York Times.

Google gets paid for these ads; and essentially every time you perform a search, Google gets a percentage for every result that contains ads. When Google doesn’t run affiliate ads, it advertises in search and on millions of websites through its proprietary Doubleclick ad network. It is a system that trades and then fills countless pieces of unsold inventory (pages where a particular advertiser has not chosen to sponsor a site or page) to the highest bidder advertiser. Google also makes money here (as do publishers).

Google search result

That’s a lot of advertising (Image credit: Future)

Everything from Google

Even if you don’t use Chrome, Google search is widespread. Search company pays Apple up to $20 billion a year to become the default search engine in Safari’s address bar.

If you have an Android phone, Chrome is often the default browser, or at least pre-installed, and virtually all phones also come with Google Discover, which you can usually find by swiping right from the Android home page. This feed is full of news and advertising, the latter of which is again paid by Google.

Google’s achievement and perhaps control is undeniable. Is this a monopoly? A A US federal judge said yes in August.. I’ve argued here and elsewhere that Google’s dominance in search comes through quality, not coercion. Google entered the crowded search market and then the browser market, which was largely dominated by Microsoft and Internet Explorer. None of these competitors gave up. Google just did it better.

Technology has a habit of picking winners and losers. The beast tends to demand standards and uniformity. If there were two dozen of them operating systems for our desktops and mobile phones, developers will be stretched thin and probably broken trying to support them all. In fact, they wouldn’t do that; and they, along with consumers, will soon pick the winners and losers.

Google logo

(Image credit: Future/Lance Ulanoff)

Google under control

Google isn’t perfect here. It’s hard to deny the power and control that a dominant market share gives you, and while consumers may initially choose their laptop manufacturer and platform, ultimately it’s tech companies like Google that guide us and make decisions for us. They choose how the platforms will work and which third-party systems to invite. They are what connect the dots on the back panel – and again this is a deliberate decision that is usually hidden from our view.

Chrome is more than just a web browser; it is an ecosystem, a platform within the platforms on which we live and work. I manage multiple email accounts, edit documents in Google Docs, manage my photo library, post on social media, and, most recently, have conversations with the artificial intelligence inside Chrome, with every action and interaction passing by Google’s unblinking eye.

Global browser market share, November 2024

(Image credit: statistics counter)

I’m not complaining. Google Search is still the best search engine in the business, and Chrome is a great browser that has finally gotten resource overload issues under control. It still has its place on my desk.

Will I be served by someone else who owns Chrome and then takes the code in a different direction, perhaps away from tightly integrating it with Google’s corpus? I don’t think so. I know Google definitely doesn’t think so. IN short answer to DOJ memo proposing separation, Kent Walker, Google and Alphabet The President of Global Affairs and General Counsel wrote:

“The Justice Department’s approach will lead to unprecedented government abuses that will harm American consumers, developers and small businesses—and threaten America’s global economic and technological leadership at a time when it is needed most.”

He added that this would make Google search difficult to access, jeopardize consumer privacy and harm Google’s investments in artificial intelligence.

Obstructing Google

Google is on the cusp of radically reimagining the way we search with deeper integration of AI reviews and generative results powered by Gemini that could soon surpass traditional Google search results. Again, since Chrome is our de facto search suggestion box, switching the browser to another company means that any AI could return the result.

Google’s AI isn’t necessarily the best yet, but it is in a strong competitive position against e.g. OpenAI And ChatGPT. I love how these companies push each other. Google’s breakup won’t help the race or put the US in a better position than the rest of the world when it comes to developing artificial intelligence.

I also ultimately don’t want anyone disabling Google Search from my Chrome. This is a marriage I like and it suits me and I bet billions of others. Breaking them up might make Google less of a monopoly, but it won’t make anyone’s life better. I’d rather see the DOJ and others focus on Google’s advertising business and SEO control – perhaps there are more reasonable means there.

I don’t know what will happen next. Google has now been declared a monopoly, and the Justice Department is calling for a breakup that could even include Android. But the X-factor here is that we will soon see a new administration in the White House and changes in the leadership of the Department of Justice. These changes may mean the end of this initiative or its acceleration; things could go either way, and your guess is as good as mine. Maybe ask Google Chrome – I’m sure there are answers there.