Chrome exists to serve Google Search, Google executive says

A leaked email from Google shows the executives believe the notion of Chrome’s existence is to serve the company’s search business. While Google has always denied the allegation of monopoly in the online search market, the recent leak reinforces those allegations. It might also lead to a new probe into the company’s business practices.

Google and the US Justice Department have been engaged in a legal battle for quite some time now. The DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google over its monopoly in the search market. The agency argued that Google’s efforts to make itself the default search engine on different platforms harm the competition. In response, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said they’re only doing business and the company’s practices pose no harm to others.

However, an internal email that’s just leaked as a part of the ongoing trial somehow proves the DOJ’s accusations against Google are not so baseless. Jim Kolotouros, Google’s VP of Android Platform Partnerships, has told the company’s staff in a series of emails that “Chrome exists to serve Google search.”

A leaked internal email from Google dropped a bombshell in the antitrust case with the DOJ

While lawmakers asked Google to give users more choices with the default search engine, Kolotouros said if Chrome “is regulated to be set by the user, the value of users using Chrome goes to almost zero (for me).” Google Chrome currently holds over 61% of the browser market share, followed by Safari with 24.36%. Microsoft Edge, Firefox, and other browsers also hold a tiny market share.

Sundar Pichai compared the recent case with the Internet Explorer era. Back then, Google sent a letter to Microsoft to express concerns about the launch of Internet Explorer 7. Pichai added the industry has worked in this way for decades. Google always believed users tend to choose Chrome due to its superior quality and utility, not the lack of competitors.

Google Chrome is now totally running based on Google search. Users also can’t change the default search engine on Chrome. Unless they install and use another browser, like Microsoft Edge with Bing. Besides Chrome, Google pays over $20 billion to Apple to make itself the default search engine on Safari. The move gives Google even more dominance in the online search market.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently said Google practices are crushing Bing as a business and a product. He added Microsoft is ready to pay around $15 billion to Apple to make Bing the default engine on the Safari browser.