EU antitrust regulators want to know if Google and Samsung's chatbot deal hinders rivals

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators are asking industry participants if Google's multi-year generative artificial intelligence (AI) deal with Samsung hinders rival chatbots on Samsung smartphones, according to an EU document seen by Reuters.

The European Commission last month said it would send requests for information to better understand the effects of the deal which would see Samsung embed Google's Gemini Nano in Samsung's Galaxy S24 series smartphones.

The move could help the EU antitrust enforcer build a case against the companies if it sees any anti-competitive practices.

The questionnaire asked whether the pre-installation of Gemini Nano via the device or the cloud limits the amount of other generative AI systems that may be pre-installed on the same device.

Regulators also wanted to know if the pre-installation of Gemini Nano limits interoperability between other chatbots and apps pre-installed on Samsung smartphones.

Respondents were asked if they had tried but failed to clinch deals with device manufacturers to pre-install their chatbots and detail the reasons for their rejections.

Respondents have until this week to respond to the eight-page questionnaire.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)