In an ongoing antitrust trial brought by the U.S. Justice Department and a coalition of state attorneys general, Google executive Prabhakar Raghavan testified on Thursday about the challenges the search and advertising giant faces from smaller competitors. Raghavan, a senior vice president at Google, detailed the company's efforts to avoid becoming "the next road kill" in the highly competitive tech industry.

During the trial, Raghavan acknowledged that Google, owned by Alphabet, is acutely aware of rivals such as Expedia.com, Instagram, and TikTok, which compete for users' attention. He expressed the company's keen sense of not wanting to be left behind in the rapidly evolving digital landscape. With about 8,000 engineers and product managers working on search at Google, about 1,000 of them are dedicated to search quality.

Raghavan's testimony regarding Google's struggle to remain relevant contrasts with the Justice Department's portrayal of the company as a behemoth that has unlawfully maintained its dominance in the search-engine market. The allegations include claims that Google paid around $10 billion annually to smartphone makers and wireless carriers, ensuring its position as the default search engine on devices. Currently, Google holds nearly 90% of the search engine market.

The Google executive highlighted various types of competitors the company faces, including Microsoft's Bing in the general search category and specialized search engines like Expedia.com in the travel sector. Raghavan also expressed concern about competing against e-commerce giant Amazon.com, stating that it was one of the companies he worried about the most.

Furthermore, Raghavan emphasized the growing popularity of video-sharing app TikTok and other social media platforms for conducting searches, particularly among younger demographics. He noted that where young people go, older generations tend to follow suit. Raghavan addressed the notion of "Grandpa Google," acknowledging that some users may still rely on the search engine for practical tasks like homework, but turn to other platforms for more engaging content.

As the antitrust trial unfolds, Google will continue to face scrutiny over its practices and market dominance. The testimonies from Raghavan shed light on the company's awareness of its competitors and the ongoing efforts to maintain its relevance in an ever-changing technological landscape.