Google's top executive in charge of Chrome today warned against the “unprecedented” forced sale of the browser, saying the product can't be run independently as it relies heavily on Google for investments and a security infrastructure that no other company would have the incentive to provide. If divested and acquired by a third party, Chrome would not have the same features and functionalities that exist today, said Parisa Tabriz, vice president of engineering and general manager for Chrome.
Google's top executive in charge of Chrome today warned against the “unprecedented” forced sale of the browser, saying the product can't be run independently because it relies heavily on Google for investments and a security infrastructure that no other company would have the incentive to provide.If divested, a third party-run Chrome would not have the same features and functionalities that exist today, according to Parisa Tabriz, vice president of engineering and general manager for Chrome.
"I need an adjective more than 'difficult,'" she said. "I think it's unprecedented, and I've worked in software engineering for an incredibly long time. I can't think of a more complex and higher-risk project."
Tabriz took the witness stand in a monopolization lawsuit brought by the US Department of Justice and a coalition of states against Google. A three-week remedy trial is underway at the US District Court for the District of Columbia, where the government is asking a federal judge to hive off the Chrome browser in addition to imposing other behavioral remedies.
The DOJ, which presented its case-in-chief all week, argued that Chrome is a significant driver of revenue for Google. With the tech giant seeking to deeply integrate its artificial intelligence app Gemini into the browser, Google's monopoly in the Internet search and search text ads market will be further entrenched, the government said.
During cross-examination by Google attorney Gloria Maier, the executive said attempting to divest Chrome from Google would present logistical difficulties.
"Chrome today represents 17 years of close collaboration between the Chrome team and many other teams across Google," Tabriz said. "People can build browsers on Chromium, but we have had 17 years of innovation and building interdependencies because we work as one company. We can all get in a room."
Chromium is an open-source web browser project developed by Google. It serves as the foundation for many popular browsers, such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Opera.
"We can work from shared code bases and continue to deliver features and innovations in close collaboration, and trying to disentangle that is unprecedented... So much of Chrome is dependent on Google research and development and the efficiencies that we get, I wouldn't know how to approach it," the Google executive said.
— Chrome under attack and Google’s security dollars —
Chrome also depends on Google for security and the security investments Google makes toward a shared infrastructure and shared code base to protect Chromium, she said.
"Chromium is one of the most attacked pieces of software in the world," Tabriz said. "Our users are constantly under attack... we benefit from all of Google's investment to protect users and the robustness of the Chromium project."
If Chrome's client-side code were divested and owned by a different company, Tabriz said it would not be practical for Google to continue to provide all of the back-end systems and services that Chrome currently depends on.
Many features in Chrome represent things that Google built with the expectation it would be under one company. That "sort of the special sauce is what makes Chrome different than other Chromium-based browsers," she said.
"What risks do you see for the Chromium open-source project if it were divested?" Maier asked.
Tabriz responded that most of the talent contributing to Chrome comes from a dedicated team of 1,200 employees spread across the US, Canada, Europe and Asia.
"Google's the primary contributor, primary investor in Chromium. We are providing the infrastructure that hosts the documentation and looking at bugs," the Google executive said. "I can't imagine the same level of investment going into the project if Google doesn't have a Chrome team. I don't know why or how they would do it."
"I think that would radically change Google's investment, and I don't expect that others would be able to contribute at the same rate, because they're not [investing] today," Tabriz said. "Where would that investment come from?"
Many of Chrome's features would have to be reconsidered because they weren't designed initially for use by an independent entity, she said.
"You couldn't expect to be able to just reuse them. So, I think an independent entity would have to figure out how to replace them, or how to rebuild some of the back-ends that, you know, lead to those features, and I don't think it's possible to re-create," Tabriz said.
If the DOJ and states' proposal to divest Chrome is executed, according to the executive, it would introduce so many challenges related to the product itself and its engineering, as well as challenges over data security, privacy and compliance.
The best outcome will be having a product "that is a shadow of current Chrome, and after years of technical refactoring, has something that has decayed, regressed in quality and security and probably becomes insecure and obsolete. [It's] really sad because a lot of users use Chrome," Tabriz said.
— Gemini’s deep integration into Chrome —
David Dahlquist, counsel for the DOJ, had to repeat a round of questions before Tabriz answered that her focus and that of the team she leads for Chrome is to integrate the Gemini AI app into the browser.
Chrome is a critical access point through which more than 30 percent of search inquiries are routed, the DOJ said in its revised final remedy proposal in March. The divestment of Chrome would permanently stop Google’s control of this integral search portal and allow rival search engines the ability to access the browser that for many users is a gateway to the internet (see here).
It was established earlier during Tabriz’s testimony that as of May 2024, Chrome had an 80 percent share of browsers on Android devices, a 12.9 percent market share on Apple mobile devices, a 68.4 percent market share on Windows devices and 59.9 percent on Mac OS devices. The base of daily active users for Chrome continues to grow by about 5 percent year over year, with the browser boasting 1.8 billion daily active users across platforms.
“Would you agree that in the future, you see an opportunity for Chrome to deeply integrate with Gemini?” Dahlquist asked.
“Yes, I think that's a way we could use AI in Chrome to help people,” the executive replied.
Another exhibit from June 2024 said, “We envision a future of multiple agents, where Chrome integrates deeply with Gemini as a primary agent, and one will prioritize and enable users to engage with multiple third-party agents on the web and in both consumer and enterprise settings.”
“Yeah, I think that's something we can imagine the future of computing being, and that how Chrome will evolve,” the Google executive replied.
“But it's not even the future. You agree that today Chrome is integrating with Gemini as a primary agent and giving it priority. Correct?” Dahlquist asked.
“This e-mail... I have to be careful...,” Tabriz said as she almost read out confidential information that was redacted for the public, “...is really talking about the future of agents, and we're talking about what could be possible in the future. We have not done this level of deep integration into Chrome.”
Dahlquist persisted, pointing out that a user can “Ask Gemini” in the Chrome Omnibox. By typing at the Gemini symbol, users get a Gemini query box that pops into Chrome.
The Chrome Omnibox is the name for Google Chrome's address bar, which also functions as a search bar. The shortcut allows users to enter both website addresses and search terms, providing a unified interface for navigation and searching.
The DOJ attorney also asked whether, in real-dollar terms, Google invests only a small percentage of its search revenue into Chrome.
“I think Google invests in Chrome. I guess I'm not thinking of it as Google has revenue it can invest in Chrome. I don't think of it as investing search revenue into Chrome,” she replied.
Dahlquist presented an exhibit showing an internal Google slide stating “How Chrome creates value for Google.”
Tabriz said Chrome drives revenue and efficiency gains for Google's top product areas. A column on the slide which measured the size of the financial impact that each of Chrome's features may have on Google was redacted for the public.
Dahlquist pressed Tabriz about the growth rate of investments in Chrome lagging behind the growth rate of revenue fueled by user search queries. A partially redacted slide showed that between 2020 and 2024, Google’s compounded annual growth rate from search revenue flowing through the Chrome browser stood at 16 percent. By contrast, the total investment in the browser during that same period stood at 11.8 percent.
But Tabriz sought to clarify that the figures don't capture the cost to actually improve search over that time period.
The DOJ will continue to present its case on Monday with three witnesses scheduled to appear. This includes Adam Epstein, CEO of adMarketplace; Michael Luca, the states' expert; and David Locala, a mergers and acquisition expert. The government expects to rest their case on Tuesday.
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