Big tech companies are expanding their AI empires using old playbooks

In the land grab around artificial intelligence, big technology companies are relying on old playbooks to cement and enhance their lead, which could draw greater scrutiny from Washington and Brussels.

On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Apple and Google are in talks about installing Google’s AI models on iPhones. A similar arrangement for Google search is part of a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit against Sundar Pichai’s company.

On Tuesday, Microsoft announced it was hiring Inflection AI co-founder and CEO Mustafa Suleyman and most of the company’s staff. The software giant will...