Google and Samsung have a deal to pre-install Gemini

Turns out, Gemini didn’t make it onto Samsung phones because it’s the best AI assistant. It’s there because Google paid for it.

In court testimony this week, Google’s VP of platform partnerships, Peter Fitzgerald, confirmed that the company struck a deal with Samsung earlier this year. Under the agreement, Google makes monthly payments to ensure Gemini comes pre-installed on Galaxy smartphones. Samsung also gets a cut of ad revenue generated by the AI.

The timing is worth noting. These payments began in January, just as Google started pushing Gemini harder across its ecosystem. The contract runs for two years.

This revelation came during the ongoing US antitrust trial, in which the Department of Justice is trying to determine just how far Google has gone to maintain its dominance, not just in search but now in AI.

Last year, Google was already found guilty of monopolistic behavior in its core search business. Now, as regulators weigh penalties, fresh evidence is surfacing that the company is using similar tactics in the AI race.

The DOJ is pushing for structural changes. That could mean Google being forced to split off Android and Chrome, or at the very least, stop bundling its services as defaults.