Google-Microsoft Truce Crumbles Amid Feud Over Cloud, Ad Tech Dina Bass and Nico Grant, Bloomberg News Sundar Pichai Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg , Bloomberg (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft and Google, tech giants that compete in cloud computing, web search and artificial intelligence, five years ago formally agreed to cease using their substantial lobbying firepower against each other, seeking to eliminate a pricey and distracting battle and clear the way to collaborate more. That truce, forged at the time by two new CEOs wanting a fresh start on a formerly acrimonious relationship, expired in April.Even before the deal was allowed to lapse, the non-aggression pact had been fraying. The companies feuded publicly over a proposal to force Google to pay news publishers for content and squabbled more quietly over technology for selling search ads. Neither company is eager to extend or renew the alliance, according to people familiar with each companiesâ thinking, who werenât authorized to discuss confidential relationships.As the two draw farther apart and the business rivalry between them escalates, Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.âs Google may be drawn back into a persistent battle of behind-the-scenes lobbying efforts and public complaints to regulators, who are eager to impose new limits on the power of the biggest technology companies. From Microsoftâs side, the disputes are about giving marketers equal access to search engines when they organize campaigns with Googleâs technology, and creating a robust ecosystem for content creators to get paid. Google believes Microsoft is objecting because it regards Google as a threat to Microsoftâs Azure cloud-computing and Office productivity businesses. At a time when regulators are training their guns on the whole industry, Microsoft and Google handing them ammo against each other may backfire, leaving both companies and their peers subject to even more scrutiny.The first signs of strain between the two companies appeared more than two years ago, when Microsoft protested to Google that its Search Ads 360, which lets marketers manage advertising campaigns across multiple search engines, wasnât keeping up with new features and ad types in Microsoftâs search engine, Bing. That meant it was easier and better for potential advertisers using that system to buy Google spots than Microsoft ones. It seemed to be happening when Bingâs capabilities caught up with an existing Google search feature, said Rik van der Kooi, vice president of Microsoft Advertising. He estimates Googleâs moves in ad tech are costing the software maker hundreds of millions in ad revenue every year. It impacts Bing as well as the Yahoo and DuckDuckGo search engines that use Bing technology.