OpenAI might be eyeing Chrome if Google is forced to sell it. During a court hearing today, ChatGPT’s head of product, Nick Turley, told a judge that OpenAI would be interested in buying the browser, according to Reuters.
This potential sell-off of Chrome is one of the remedies proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice in its antitrust case against Google. Judge Amit Mehta previously ruled that Google holds a monopoly in online search, and the trial has now moved into the remedies phase. Google plans to appeal that ruling.
Turley also revealed that OpenAI reached out to Google last year to explore a possible partnership that would allow ChatGPT to tap into Google’s search capabilities. Currently, ChatGPT uses Bing’s search data. While Turley didn’t name Microsoft directly, he mentioned that OpenAI has experienced “significant quality issues” with a provider identified only as “Provider No. 1,” Bloomberg reported.
An email presented during the trial showed OpenAI saying that partnering with multiple providers—especially gaining access to Google’s search API—could help improve ChatGPT’s performance. However, Turley confirmed that Google declined the partnership offer. “We have no partnership with Google today,” he said.
