CMA Google AI Search Scrutiny

What happened

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) designated Google with Strategic Market Status (SMS) in search services, effective October 2025, under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. This action introduces proposed measures enabling publishers to opt out of their content being utilised in Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, which are components of Google's AI-powered search services. This changes the condition for content usage by Google, aiming to address its search dominance and secure fairer terms for publishers.

Why it matters

This regulatory action introduces a new operational constraint for Google's product development and legal teams, requiring the implementation of opt-out mechanisms for AI-powered search features and increasing the burden of compliance with fair ranking and content usage rules. It also shifts the dependency for content publishers, providing a new control to manage their content's use in AI Overviews, thereby altering their negotiation leverage regarding content monetisation.