Artificial Intelligence

Google, OpenAI Clash Over UK Search Engine Plans

Is adding AI chatbots to search choice screens regulatory overreach that confuses users or the only honest test of real competition?

3 hours ago·Updated 1 hour ago

Google, OpenAI Clash Over UK Search Engine Plans

Story

Above: Google's AI Mode feature is displayed on the Google Search homepage in this illustration photo taken on Sept. 9. Image credit: Matteo Della Torre/NurPhoto/Getty Images

The Facts

Google has accused the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority of acting unlawfully by proposing that rival AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude appear on its search choice screens alongside rival search engines, as part of a consultation response published on Tuesday.
The Times (UK)
The Telegraph
Government of the United Kingdom
Under the plans, search choice screens would carry 12 slots, with the first five filled by the most popular providers and the remaining seven drawn at random. Google has claimed that, under eligibility criteria assumptions, this plan would lead to 56 AI assistants and 13 search engines competing for the random slots.
Government of the United Kingdom
Google claims that the CMA excluded AI assistants from relevant digital activity under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, that proportionality assessments required by the law have not been undertaken, and the CMA has also not regarded the benefits for the consumers as required by the law.
Government of the United Kingdom
OpenAI, meanwhile, backed what it described as "technology-neutral eligibility criteria," arguing the proposals "recognise[d] that general search is evolving and may be provided through AI assistants as well as traditional search engines." The company also called for the CMA to rank providers by U.K. usage.
Government of the United Kingdom
Government of the United Kingdom
The claim could trigger the first judicial review under the U.K.'s digital markets regime, which lets the CMA designate Google with strategic market status in search last year. Google handles more than 90% of U.K. general search queries, the regulator says.
Government of the United Kingdom
Politicopro
The CMA published the strengthened proposals Sept. 23, inviting public comments by Oct. 9, with a final decision expected by the end of 2026.
Government of the United Kingdom

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Stuffing a search choice screen with chatbots is regulatory overreach that solves nothing. Users end up confused by services that don't even crawl the web, publishers lose traffic and genuine search rivals get crowded off the screen. Preemptively regulating the most competitive corner of tech is a strange way to make Britain an AI hub.

Institute of Economic Affairs

Government of the United Kingdom

Narrative B

Search has changed fast, and pretending AI assistants aren't where people now look for answers only protects an incumbent. A choice screen that locks out the fastest-growing rivals delivers the appearance of choice while leaving most search gateways, Safari included, untouched. Technology-neutral eligibility rules are the only honest test of whether that dominance was ever earned.

Government of the United Kingdom