NavBoost — Google's 13-month click-based re-ranking, confirmed under oath in DOJ v. Google 2023

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.

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.

Source: Pandu Nayak sworn testimony, US DOJ v. Google, 2023. Non-vendor (court testimony).

Confidence: Verified.

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.