Google develops and open sources Brotli compression tool, claims it offers 20-26% higher compression ratios than predecessor Zopfli
Introducing Brotli: a new compression algorithm for the internet — At Google, we think that internet users' time is valuable, and that they shouldn't have to wait long for a web page to load.
Context & Ripple Effects
This lands five months after Google quietly shipped the Data Saver compression extension for desktop Chrome, and it completes that picture from the other side: instead of compressing traffic inside Google's proxy, the company is now handing the whole web an open codec. Brotli is positioned as the successor to Google's own Zopfli, claiming 20-26% higher compression ratios.
The move also fits a decade-long pattern visible in the coverage: Google repeatedly builds compression tooling and gives it away, from this text codec to the open-sourced JPEG encoder that cut file sizes around 35% two years later and the Squoosh image-compression web app. Each release lowers page weight at zero licensing cost, which compounds Google's interest in a faster web.
First-order effects
- Developers and site operators gain a free, openly licensed way to shrink text assets by a further 20-26% over Zopfli, cutting load times without changing any page content.
Second-order effects
- Browser vendors, CDNs, and server-software maintainers now face a support decision: serve the new format where clients accept it, or let Google's stack define the default compression path.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds — open codecs followed by tooling like Squoosh and, eventually, quantization work such as TurboQuant for LLMs — compression becomes a standing Google-controlled layer of web and AI infrastructure, set by whatever formats its browsers and servers adopt.
The trend: Google is systematically open-sourcing compression technology to shape how much data moves across the web and its own platforms.