UK antitrust regulator targets Google's search dominance
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has designated Google with strategic market status in search and search advertising, confirming its substantial market power. This step under the new digital markets regime could lead to interventions promoting competition. Google has objected, highlighting its economic contributions to the UK.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on October 10, 2025, that Google holds strategic market status in the UK, specifically in search and search advertising. This designation stems from the UK's digital markets competition regime, enacted earlier in 2025. Following an investigation launched shortly after the regime's introduction, the CMA determined Google possesses substantial and entrenched market power, with over 90 percent share of internet searches in the UK. The label does not imply illegal activity but opens the door to regulatory measures.
Generative AI features complicate the landscape. While Google's Gemini AI assistant falls outside the scope, related tools like AI Overviews and AI Mode are included. Consultations on potential interventions to foster competition will start later in 2025, with initial measures possibly announced in the first half of 2026. These could build on voluntary UK initiatives or regional solutions, such as granting publishers greater control over data use in search or introducing choice screens for alternative search services.
Google has pushed back, emphasizing its benefits to the UK economy. In a statement, the company noted: "Google Search contributes billions of pounds a year to the UK economy—£118 billion in 2023 alone." It credits early access to new features, including AI-based ones, to avoiding stricter European-style restrictions. However, Google warned that further limits might delay such innovations for UK users, akin to lags in the EU. Debbie Weinstein, Google's EMEA president, cited the delayed EU rollout of AI Overviews as an example of regulatory drawbacks.
This move aligns with broader European scrutiny, including the EU's Digital Markets Act, which labels Google a gatekeeper alongside firms like Apple and Meta. Google has criticized such laws for harming business and called for a "reset" of the DMA.