The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), in its latest regulatory move, has published a package of proposals to expand users' choice in online search, a field that Google effectively controls with more than 90 percent of all public searches in the UK. The main target of these proposals are the two platforms that most shape British users' search habits: the Android operating system and the Chrome browser.
Under this proposal, users should be able to freely choose their preferred search provider instead of accepting Google automatically as the default. Notably, the CMA this time goes beyond traditional search engines and intends to reform rules related to AI assistants; an action that could for the first time pave the way for services like ChatGPT or Perplexity to be chosen as the default search option on Android devices and Chrome.
Three main pillars of the new proposal
The CMA's new proposal is built around three main pillars:
First, Android smartphone makers and Google will be required to give users the option to choose among different search providers at first device setup or the first time Chrome is opened; and this choice, instead of occurring only once during the device's lifetime, will be reminded and repeated annually. According to published reports, the proposal also includes an optional 14-day trial period at the end of which the user will be asked whether they wish to keep the newly chosen search engine.
Second, users should be able to choose from competing AI assistants as well, provided that the service meets specified technical and security requirements. Currently, Google's choice screens offer no option to set an AI service as the default search and the CMA sees this as one of the main gaps in current regulation.
Third, all search providers - including Google itself - will be required to clearly cite and link the primary source of content when displaying results so users can easily access the original source. This clause directly addresses news publishers' concerns about reduced inbound traffic from Google's AI results such as AI Overviews.
Response from the CMA chief executive
Sara Cardell, chief executive of the Competition and Markets Authority, explained that the way people search for information online is changing and the emergence of next-generation services has created new opportunities for innovation and competition in this market. According to her, the authority has listened closely to feedback and seeks to respond quickly to the growth of AI assistants - which users are increasingly choosing as their primary search tool but which have no place in Google's choice screens -. Cardell said the ultimate aim is to prepare options for people in the UK so that as these new services enter the market they can choose their preferred search service.
The context in which this proposal is made
This new action follows a series of CMA regulatory decisions against Google earlier this year. On 3 June, the authority enacted a rule allowing publishers to opt their content out of the list of sources used in Google's AI results; a step described at the time as a "world first." Then on 17 June, requirements on fair ranking of search results and the portability of user data between services were introduced. Together, these measures are part of a process stemming from the designation of "Strategic Market Status" for Google in the public search sector in the UK; a procedure that allows the CMA to impose targeted rules on Google's activities in the country.
It is worth noting that UK Android and Chrome users can already change their default search engine, but this option is typically only offered once during the initial device setup. The novelty of the new proposal is the mandatory and annual reminder and its extension to the Chrome desktop browser, where no such choice screen has existed to date.
Comparatively, this approach is similar to the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which previously required smartphone makers in many European countries to offer choice of browser and search engine at first device setup. However, British publishers' trade associations have warned that handing default search positions to AI assistants could accelerate the decline in inbound traffic to news websites - a trend that began with the introduction of AI Overviews.
A point beyond search: a similar challenge in Apple's ecosystem
Interestingly, the concern over choosing a default AI assistant is not limited to Google and Android. Based on recent findings by researchers and tech media, hidden mechanisms have been discovered in the code of beta versions of iOS 27 and macOS Golden Gate (macOS 27) that would allow apps to appear as Siri extensions or even completely replace Siri's server-side AI with third-party models like Anthropic's Claude or other models. Apple has not yet enabled this capability for external developers and currently the only official ChatGPT extension is available in the company's "Ask…" menu. Nevertheless, the existence of such infrastructure indicates that tech giants, regardless of regulatory pressure like the CMA or DMA, are preparing their platforms for a multilateral competition era of AI assistants.
What happens next?
The CMA's recent proposals are still in consultation with stakeholders and the final decision on making them mandatory depends on feedback from Google, publishers, competitors and trade associations. Given the authority's track record of quickly imposing similar rules in June, it appears the UK is determined to remain a leader in regulating the intersection of traditional search and generative AI.
According to a report by amediaoperator.com, the proposal was made in response to warnings from publishers' associations about the growing influence of AI in search.