Google controls 90% of the global search market, creating a monopoly that extends into AI development since LLMs require search index access for grounding. A 2024 U.S. court ruling found Google violated antitrust law, and December 2025 remedies mandate Google provide search index syndication to competitors on fair terms without ad bundling. Kagi has secured direct licenses from multiple providers (Mojeek, Brave, Yandex, Apple) but cannot access Google or Bing indexes on compatible terms. The company currently relies on third-party SERP APIs while advocating for open index access. The proposed remedies could enable a layered search ecosystem: public baseline search as a utility, ad-supported commercial options, and premium subscription services competing on quality and privacy.
