Recent antitrust rulings in the US and actions by the ACCC in Australia are actively shaping the search landscape. Search continues to dominate how people discover information, products, and services, and shifts in search regulation and platform behaviour can have ripple effects across many areas of marketing and business strategy. In this article, we break down the latest developments in the US and Australia around Google and its dominance, explore what these changes mean for publishers and advertisers, and highlight how marketers can prepare for a future where discovery is more complex than ever.
The Google Search Antitrust Case
In his recent ruling on the United States v. Google LLC search antitrust case, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta opted for modest remedies rather than drastic structural changes. While reaffirming Google’s monopolistic status as ruled in August 2025, Mehta declined to enforce divestiture of Chrome or Android, and allowed Google’s existing default search contracts—including those with Apple—to continue.
Instead, Mehta ordered:
- A ban on future exclusive default search deals.
- A one-time data-sharing requirement, enabling rivals to access a snapshot of search index and query information.
- A five-year syndication of search results, priced above marginal cost, as a stopgap measure.
Immediate market implications from the softer ruling included Alphabet’s market cap ballooning by over $200 billion USD within days. On the other hand, publishers and ad-tech stakeholders were largely underwhelmed, calling the decision a “feckless remedy” that doesn’t meaningfully address Google’s dominance. And those within the advertising ecosystem see these rulings as less of an all encompassing reset, rather a more polite tap on the wrist.
Why Publishers Are Unimpressed
While Judge Mehta ruled that Google is an illegal monopolist, his decision stopped short of mandating a breakup. The remedies provided were emphasised as behavioural remedies rather than structural changes, particularly in relation to the breakup.
As a result, from a publisher’s perspective the US remedies do little. A one-off data snapshot won’t undo years of algorithmic advantage. Syndication priced above marginal cost still tilts the field toward Google. And without structural separation of distribution (Chrome / Android) and monetisation, publishers remain on the back foot. On the other hand, Google can now appeal the decision regarding its monopolistic position which is expected to stretch to 2027.
What’s Happening In Australia
In contrast for Australia, because of actions of the ACCC, local contracts and defaults are beginning to shift. On 18 August 2025, the ACCC commenced Federal Court action and announced Google’s admissions over anti-competitive pre-install/default provisions with Telstra & Optus (Dec 2019–Mar 2021). Google agreed to remove restrictive clauses and pay $55 million. Telstra, Optus and TPG have undertaken not to do similar deals.
This is within the wider context of the investigation that ACCC has taken since 2019 where it has found defaults and bundling central to Google’s dominance and flagged remedies, including choice screens and contract changes. In other words, while Judge Mehta may have left the defaults largely intact in the US, in Australia those contracts are already being rewritten. This creates a subtle but important window for alternative search distribution, niche players, and possibly AI-powered assistants to gain slivers of share in the local, and similar, markets.
What This Means For Marketers
From a marketer’s perspective, the missed opportunity is bigger: because these measures effectively allow for a monopolistic practice for Google to stay intact, advertisers and markets will still be anchored to a single search gatekeeper. In other words, we are all betting on Google’s next move rather than preparing for a diversified future.
This is something that marketers must be prepared to course-correct for. We cannot afford to sit back and hope regulators fix the discovery ecosystem. Whether in the US or via the ACCC, these remedies are incremental. They buy time, not transformation. There are steps that we can take now to reduce our reliance and develop our approach. This include:
- Auditing Google dependency – How much of your traffic and lead flow comes from Google search, paid or organic? If it’s >60%, consider identifying ways to diversify traffic.
- Prepare for an ‘answer’ economy – AI assistants are condensing the funnel into direct answers. Therefore we must optimise for these platforms through organising structured data, creating FAQs, and schema markup so your brand shows up in answer boxes and voice responses. While it is small today, it is worth tracking AI traffic going forward. In fact, Judge Mehta explicitly notes in his ruling that the remedies he chose were influenced by the competition Google is now facing from AI search platforms.
- Own your demand capture – Build first-party data assets (newsletters, loyalty programs, community platforms), drive direct relationships with consumers to offset reliance on third-party discovery, and invest in CRM + CDP infrastructure to unify insights and build retention strategies.
- Improve measurement – develop a triangulation approach to build more independence from last touch point measurement and create opportunities for empirical learning through incrementality testing.
- Diversify activity where possible – From exploring different platforms through to creating experience-led loyalty loops, where possible advertisers should aim to reduce reliance on Google discovery. When your brand is indispensable, search is just one entry point.
Final Thoughts
Judge Mehta’s remedies won’t fix what ails publishers. They won’t rebalance the digital ad economy. But they are a flashing neon sign for marketers: don’t bet your entire growth plan on one search monopoly.
In Australia, the ACCC’s actions prove regulators can move defaults, but the real strategic work lies in the hands of brands and agencies. That means hedging, experimenting, and building resilience into the funnel now, not waiting for the next courtroom headline.
If you want to stay ahead of these shifts and build a more resilient marketing strategy, get in touch with an ADMATICian today to see how we can help diversify your discovery channels and future-proof your growth.