Google faces DOJ probe over Character. AI deal: Report

The US Justice Department is probing whether Alphabet’s Google violated antitrust law in its agreement with Character.AI that allows the tech giant to use the AI startup’s technology, Bloomberg Law reported on Thursday.

Antitrust enforcers have recently told Google they are examining whether the company structured the agreement with Character.AI to avoid formal government merger scrutiny, the report said, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Google last year signed a licensing deal with Character.AI that granted the search engine giant a…