CMA mulls strategic market status for Google in UK search sector

The CMA is considering designating Google as having strategic market status in the UK search sector. (Photo: Thaspol Sangsee/Shutterstock)

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is evaluating whether to designate Google with ‘strategic market status’ (SMS) in the areas of general search and search advertising. This proposal will be subject to consultation, with a final decision expected in October this year. If Google receives this designation, the CMA would have the authority to implement specific measures to address Google’s operations within the UK’s search services sector.

In preparation for a possible SMS designation, the CMA has outlined a roadmap of potential actions. Initial priorities include introducing choice screens to enable users to access various search providers, ensuring fair ranking principles for businesses appearing on Google search, and increasing transparency and control for publishers whose content appears in search results. Additionally, the CMA aims to facilitate consumer search data portability, which could support innovation in new products and services.

Google’s dominance in UK search and advertising markets

According to the competition regulator, Google currently dominates over 90% of general search queries in the UK, serving as a crucial internet gateway for millions of users and a vital tool for over 200,000 UK businesses reliant on Google search advertising. The CMA’s investigation has highlighted several concerns, including the difficulty for competitors to replicate Google’s extensive index of websites and access to historical searches, higher-than-expected costs of search advertising, and limited transparency in Google’s ranking and presentation of search results.

The UK’s Digital Markets Competition Regime aims to unlock opportunities for innovation and growth by promoting competition while protecting consumers and businesses from unfair practices. It allows the CMA to design targeted interventions addressing specific digital activities, involving diverse stakeholders through a participative process.  

To provide predictability for Google and other market participants, the CMA has published a roadmap prioritising actions during the initial phase of any designation period. Early priority measures include requiring choice screens for easy selection and switching between search services, ensuring fair search result rankings, enhancing publisher control over content use, and supporting data portability.

The CMA plans to address more complex issues over a longer period, starting in the first half of 2026. These include concerns about Google’s bargaining position with publishers, its treatment of rival specialised search firms, and transparency in search advertising. Furthermore, the competition regulator is considering the impact of generative AI on the search landscape. While AI assistant usage is growing, it remains smaller than Google search.

Google’s integration of AI features, such as AI Overviews, into its search products and development of its assistant, Gemini, is noted. The proposed SMS designation would include AI-based search features, excluding Gemini AI Assistant, with this position subject to review as usage evolves.

“Google is the world’s leading search tool and plays an important role in all our lives, with the average person in the UK making 5 to 10 searches a day,” said the CMA CEO Sarah Cardell. “It is equally critical for over 200,000 UK businesses which rely on Google to reach their customers. Google search has delivered tremendous benefits – but our investigation so far suggests there are ways to make these markets more open, competitive and innovative.”

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