BRUSSELS, July 17 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators

are asking industry participants if Google's

multi-year generative artificial intelligence (AI) deal with

Samsung hinders rival chatbots on Samsung

smartphones, according to an EU document seen by Reuters.

The European Commission last month said it would send

requests for information to better understand the effects of the

deal which would see Samsung embed Google's Gemini Nano in

Samsung's Galaxy S24 series smartphones.

The move could help the EU antitrust enforcer build a case

against the companies if it sees any anti-competitive practices.

The questionnaire asked whether the pre-installation of

Gemini Nano via the device or the cloud limits the amount of

other generative AI systems that may be pre-installed on the

same device.

Regulators also wanted to know if the pre-installation of

Gemini Nano limits interoperability between other chatbots and

apps pre-installed on Samsung smartphones.

Respondents were asked if they had tried but failed to

clinch deals with device manufacturers to pre-install their

chatbots and detail the reasons for their rejections.

Respondents have until this week to respond to the

eight-page questionnaire.