Google is battling separate rulings in two landmark US antitrust cases that found the company illegally monopolized the search and adtech businesses. However, big marketers aren’t rushing to celebrate a potential breakup. They lack alternatives to Google’s reach and effectiveness. While some industry insiders push for Google to be more transparent about its data and open up its systems to operate with other third-party tools, many CMOs are more concerned about the economic uncertainty of a recession, tariffs, and geopolitical tensions.
Marketers collectively spent over $264 billion advertising on Google properties last year. They must be eager to see Google lose power, but most aren’t ready to take a public stand or invest time in the issue. Industry experts believe that any proposed remedies could force Google to sell assets like Chrome, break exclusive deals with Apple, or break off its Android mobile operating system.
The antitrust cases have sparked some hope for advertisers and marketing consultants that the outcome could lead to more transparency from Google about its data and systems. This could allow advertisers to use their preferred adtech tools and audit Google campaigns with third-party measurement tools. However, these changes are not a priority for most CMOs at this time.
As search evolves, Google’s dominance is wobbling due to competition from rivals like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, TikTok, and Amazon. Research firm Emarketer predicts that Google will fall below 50% share of the US search ad market in 2025 for the first time since it started tracking the space in 2008.
Despite this shift, many marketers are okay with the status quo for now, recognizing that advertisers get access to efficient and effective media planning, buying, and optimization from Google’s seeming omnipresence.
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/google-breakup-potential-impact-advertising-marketing-cmo-reaction-2025-4