Google's AI model Gemini has seen its monthly active users grow nearly threefold to 350 million within six months

According to a report by the technology blog TechCrunch, documents disclosed in the ongoing antitrust trial by the U.S. government reveal that since October of last year, the monthly active user count of Google's (GOOGL.US) artificial intelligence model Gemini has nearly quadrupled. By October 2024, Gemini's daily active users reached 9 million; the report states that by March of this year, this number surged to 35 million, increasing the total monthly active users from 90 million to 350 million.

In contrast, data presented in court shows that OpenAI's ChatGPT had 600 million monthly active users in March. By the end of 2024, the monthly active user count of Meta Platform's (META.US) AI chatbot Meta AI is close to 500 million.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed earlier this month that nearly 800 million people (10% of the global population) are using the technology of this generative AI startup. OpenAI also stated that if U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta rules that Google must divest its web browser business, OpenAI is interested in acquiring Google's search engine Chrome.

Google is currently defending itself in a trial. On Monday, Alphabet's Google will face off against the U.S. Department of Justice and dozens of state attorneys general in a Washington courtroom, debating what antitrust remedies the judge should order to prevent the company from continuing to monopolize the online search engine and online advertising markets. The trial is expected to last several weeks.

Lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice are trying to persuade the judge to force the company to sell its Chrome browser business to restore competition in the online search market. The remedies proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice also include preventing Google's search engine from receiving preferential treatment and licensing search data (from search indexes to search results) to external competitors.

Remedial measures proposed by U.S. government antitrust regulators include: requiring Google to sell its Chrome browser business, licensing internal search engine data to competitors, and stopping the company from paying large sums to obtain exclusive status on other online services and devices.

Google has firmly stated that the government's proposals would undermine a range of products that people use daily, harm the U.S.'s technological leadership, and ultimately hurt American consumers. Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, stated in a blog post on Sunday that the U.S. Department of Justice's proposal would "raise all benchmark prices and significantly slow the pace of innovation."

Google indicated that these proposals would negatively impact the company's development of artificial intelligence. Google stated: "This would hinder innovation in the U.S. at a critical time. We are in a fierce global competition for the next generation of technology leadership, and Google is at the forefront of American companies achieving technological breakthroughs."

It is understood that Google's representatives have opposed being forced to sell the Chrome browser business and have proposed an alternative antitrust remedy: allowing users to automatically select their preferred default browser while still enabling the company to share related revenue with competitors