{"id":2098,"slug":"navboost-doj-trial-confirmation","title":"NavBoost — Google's 13-month click-based re-ranking, confirmed under oath in DOJ v. Google 2023","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["incumbent-authority-accumulation"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** The 2023 US DOJ v. Google antitrust trial confirmed, under oath from Google VP Pandu Nayak, that a click-based re-ranking system called **NavBoost** is one of Google's important ranking signals, drawing on a rolling **13-month window** of user-interaction data.\n\n**This entrenches incumbents:** established brands accumulate the \"good clicks\" that reinforce their position. The system was deemed so central that the antitrust remedy ordered Google to share the data with qualified competitors.\n\n**Source:** Pandu Nayak sworn testimony, US DOJ v. Google, 2023. **Non-vendor** (court testimony).\n\n**Confidence:** Verified.\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** Highest-trust source for \"incumbents win because they've been winning.\" Brand search demand and click engagement compound; new entrants cannot just out-build their way past this.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"google-api-docs-leak-2024","title":"Google Search API documentation leak — March 2024 corroborates NavBoost-style click signals","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-smb-widget-market-difficulty-june-2026","title":"Research brief: SMB widget market difficulty — six ranked factors (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"incumbent-authority-the-deepest-moat","title":"Factor 1 — Incumbent authority accumulation (the deepest moat)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-23T19:16:04.194Z","updated_at":"2026-06-23T19:16:04.194Z"}