CMA Confirms Google Strategic Market Status in UK Search

What is in scope

The designation covers Google's general search services, including AI Overviews and AI Mode, as well as Google's Discover feed, Top Stories and the news tab. The standalone Google News app and website are outside scope, as are syndication services used only to search a single site. Google's Gemini AI assistant is not included, although the CMA said it will keep this under review.

The CMA stressed that the designation is not a finding of wrongdoing and does not introduce any immediate requirements.

Possible interventions

When it proposed the designation in June 2025, the CMA set out a roadmap of possible early measures. These included choice screens to help users choose and switch between search services, fair and non-discriminatory ranking of search results, more control and transparency for publishers over how their content is used, including in AI-generated responses, and data portability so that people can move their search data to other services.

At that stage the CMA noted that Google accounts for more than 90% of general search queries in the UK and that more than 200,000 UK businesses rely on Google search advertising to reach customers.

What happens next

The CMA expects to consult on its first possible interventions later in 2025, and documents are published on its case page. Any conduct requirements that follow from Google strategic market status will matter for advertisers, publishers, rival search and AI services and businesses that depend on search traffic, all of which will be able to respond to the consultations.

Sources

• GOV.UK: CMA confirms Google has strategic market status in search services
• GOV.UK: CMA takes first steps to improve competition in search services in the UK
• GOV.UK: SMS investigation into Google's general search and search advertising services