By Dominic Preston
Publication Date: 2025-12-17 14:00:00
2025 could have been a pretty disastrous year for Google. The company came in knowing it had three major legal battles to fight, increasing competition in the burgeoning AI market, and a new US president to adapt to. It looked possible — perhaps likely — that the company might be broken up and forced to sell off Chrome or part of its ad tech business, leaving it forever smaller.
But that’s not what happened. Instead, we’re looking back at a year where Google set profit records, persuaded the courts to let it keep the status quo going at least a little longer in search and advertising, and established itself as one of AI’s few unambiguous success stories. What changed?
First, it’s worth remembering how bad things looked like they might get for Google 12 months ago. Its biggest problems lay in the courtroom: it had been declared a monopoly and was staring down the barrel of remedies in its Search antitrust case, including the potential of a forced sale of its Chrome…
