The US has ended a sweeping antitrust investigation of Google without imposing any sanctions on its core search business, even as the US internet company negotiates more extensive changes to its business practices with regulators in Europe.

The settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, which ends the first extensive US probe of the search group, was welcomed by supporters who had argued that the investigation had been motivated mainly by Microsoft and other rivals as a way to limit Google’s rise.

“This lifts a cloud off Google that will mean they can compete more aggressively,” said David Balto, a former assistant director of competition policy at the FTC. “The FTC’s action makes it clear Google’s actions don’t harm consumers. This closes the book on search.”