Google pays Samsung billions to preinstall Gemini AI

Google’s billion-dollar push to dominate AI on Samsung devices has emerged as a critical issue in its ongoing antitrust battle with the Department of Justice. Following Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling that Google’s search engine constitutes an illegal monopoly, new testimony reveals the company has pivoted to securing premium placement for its Gemini AI assistant through massive financial incentives to device manufacturers—mirroring the same business practices that landed it in legal trouble in the first place.

The big picture: Google pays Samsung an “enormous sum of money” monthly to preinstall the Gemini AI app on Samsung devices, according to testimony from Google executive Peter Fitzgerald in the company’s antitrust trial.

• The arrangement began in January 2025, notably after Google had already been found to have violated antitrust law through similar default placement deals for its search engine.
• The Gemini deal gave Google’s AI assistant prime placement on Samsung’s Galaxy S25 series, where it became the default AI assistant when users long-press the power button, relegating Samsung’s own Bixby assistant to a secondary position.

Behind the scenes: Fitzgerald testified that Samsung had received competing offers from other AI companies for default placement, including from Perplexity and Microsoft.

• Internal Google slides presented at trial revealed the company “was considering more restrictive distribution agreements that would have required partners to preinstall Gemini alongside Search and Chrome.”
• DOJ lawyers highlighted that Google only sent letters attempting to amend its deals with phone makers last week, just before the trial began, suggesting a hasty attempt to address legal concerns.

Key details: The Gemini placement agreement with Samsung runs for two years and includes both fixed monthly payments and a percentage of ad revenue generated through the Gemini app.

• While the exact payment amount remains undisclosed, DOJ lawyer David Dahlquist characterized it as an “enormous sum” during the proceedings.
• This payment structure closely resembles Google’s previous arrangements for search engine placement that contributed to the monopoly ruling.

The stakes: The DOJ is seeking aggressive remedies that would fundamentally restructure Google’s business model and AI strategy.

• If successful, the DOJ’s proposed penalties would prohibit Google from making default placement deals in the future, force the company to sell Chrome, and require Google to license the majority of data powering its search engine.
• Google has countered with a much narrower proposal, arguing it should only have to abandon the default placement agreements.