Google's AI Deal with Samsung Faces EU Antitrust Scrutiny Over Chatbot Competition Concerns

EU antitrust authorities are scrutinizing Google's AI agreement with Samsung to assess whether it hampers rival chatbots on Samsung smartphones, according to a document reviewed by Reuters.

Requests for Information Issued

According to an EU document that was viewed by Reuters, antitrust investigators in the European Union are asking players in the sector whether or not Google's multi-year generative artificial intelligence (AI) arrangement with Samsung makes it more difficult for competitors to implement chatbots on Samsung smartphones.

Earlier this month, the European Commission announced that it will be sending requests for information in order to gain a better understanding of the impacts of the arrangement, which would involve Samsung embedding Google's Gemini Nano in Samsung's Galaxy S24 series of Android handsets.

In the event that the EU antitrust enforcer discovers any anti-competitive conduct, this step may be of assistance to the firm in constructing a case against the corporations.

Pre-installation Concerns

In the questionnaire, it was inquired as to whether the pre-installation of Gemini Nano on the device itself or through the cloud imposes a restriction on the number of other generative artificial intelligence systems that can be pre-installed on another device.

Also, regulators were interested in learning whether or not the pre-installation of Gemini Nano restricts the capacity of other chatbots and applications that are pre-installed on Samsung smartphones to communicate with one another.

Questionnaire Submission Deadline

Per Investing.com, the respondents were asked whether they had attempted to get pre-installation agreements with device makers but had been unsuccessful in doing so, and if so, the reasons for their failure were specified.

Respondents have till this week to provide their responses to the questionnaire, which is eight pages long.