Keep Google Chrome. Separate search. Sell it to private equity. (I bet DoJ didn’t think about that whammy.)
And start charging for everything else out there like maps, street view, and browser. And buy cloudflare while at it. Push themselves into everything related to connectivity and internet properties.
The search business is the cash flow that is being a thorn in the side of Google. And it doesn’t even make sense in its vision anymore.
You sort of make an interesting point. Google search isn't the main product, hasn't been for a decade. Still I don't think Google Ads would do amazing without the traffic from Google Search.
But it does solve an important problem: Who in their right mind would buy Chrome? It's not a profitable business to be in, without the surrounding ad business, and in turn the insane amount of traffic from Google Search.
Almost by definition, anyone who would be interested in buying Chrome and turning it into a commercial product shouldn't be allowed to buy it. The only buyer I can imaging is OpenText.
> Keep Google Chrome. Separate search. Sell it to private equity.
This. If Search + Google Ads is independent from Android + Chrome + Gmail, it will choke the user-data flow that Google Ads platform is feeding on. This opens doors to new competing search engines!
Android + Chrome + Gmail needs to be bundled with hardware purchases, like Apple does with Safari + iCloud. This will create incentive to make them actually privacy focused, and could be its selling point. No need to feed Google Ads with data anymore!
I'm not sure what exactly Doubleclick network is, but my proposal is - Google keeps Search + all Ads related stuff, including whatever doubleclick is.
What Google loses is everything client (user) side: Chrome, Android, Gmail and other personal cloud services. Lets call it Foogle :)
Foogle can charge Samsung et al. for its Android and personal cloud services it is running. And use it in its own Pixel devices too. And may elect to make it hard for Google to sniff it, like droppung doobleclick cookies in Foogle Chrome, provide "Foogle Private Relay", et cetera.
You are proposing Chrome+ Everything Else. DOJ doesn't want the Chrome+Search entanglement. So the company getting rid of search would be an alternative idea. Search would still have the adwords revenue model. But it would be separated from the google ad network which is adsense and doubleclick. All your data on Chrome/Android would still be accessible to Doubleclick and Google for personalized ad revenue.
Cloudflare has been a continual breath of fresh air compared to Google Cloud and AWS. Please oh please don’t suggest selling it to google to let it atrophy its way to the graveyard
And start charging for everything else out there like maps, street view, and browser. And buy cloudflare while at it. Push themselves into everything related to connectivity and internet properties.
The search business is the cash flow that is being a thorn in the side of Google. And it doesn’t even make sense in its vision anymore.