A U.S. court docket dominated in August that Google has a search monopoly, and whereas Google appeals, the Justice Department is determining what sort of potential penalties to impose — like breaking off Chrome.
As a part of this course of, the DOJ needs to name on a selected witness, in keeping with a latest court docket submitting: Dmitry Shevelenko, chief enterprise officer of Perplexity, an AI search supplier most lately valued at $9 billion, per Reuters.
Perplexity and different generative AI instruments like OpenAI’s ChatGPT Search have emerged as a possible substitute for looking the web, as they’ll provide direct solutions to difficult queries (albeit, typically with made-up or inaccurate info). Google has responded to the menace with its personal AI search instruments, similar to AI Overviews, which give AI-generated solutions above search outcomes.
The DOJ needs to ask Shevelenko about “generative AI’s relationship with Search Access Points, distribution, barriers to entry and expansion, and data sharing.”
“Search access points” is a time period the DOJ makes use of to explain issues like Google Chrome — locations the place folks go to go looking the web.
While the submitting doesn’t spell out precisely why the DOJ needs to ask Perplexity about these matters, it might assist its argument that Google monopolizes the search enterprise and closes out potential rivals, and thus deserves stronger penalties.
TechCrunch requested Perplexity whether or not it has agreed to have its govt testify and for its ideas on the antitrust case. Perplexity didn’t reply instantly to a request for remark, and neither did Google.
Perplexity is successfully caught in the course of the dispute, as each side need info from it that might assist their circumstances. Google subpoenaed Perplexity in October for firm paperwork to make its personal case that it has viable competitors within the search area. (Google subpoenaed Microsoft and OpenAI as nicely.)
However, Perplexity has but to supply “a single document” to Google as of December 11, the tech big lamented in a court docket submitting, claiming that there’s “no conceivable justification for further delay” after two months of ready.
For its half, Perplexity says within the submitting that it has already agreed to satisfy 12 out of Google’s 14 doc requests however is “still evaluating the burden associated with collecting such a potentially expansive universe of documents.”
Perplexity additionally says that whereas it has agreed to supply copies of licensing agreements “related to AI training,” Google needs all of Perplexity’s licensing agreements and that it has requested Google to “meet and confer” about this.
