ChatGPT and other AI assistants are not guaranteed a place on Google’s search choice screens under new UK competition rules, City AM understands, despite proposals to open the door to rival services.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is still consulting on the criteria AI providers will have to meet to qualify for inclusion, with technical and security requirements among the conditions being considered.
The proposals therefore do not mean AI assistants will automatically be offered to Android and Chrome users as an alternative to Google Search, a person familiar with the plans told City AM.
It comes after the CMA unveiled plans on Wednesday to allow AI assistants to feature on Google’s choice screens as it looks to keep pace with the rapid shift towards services such as ChatGPT and Perplexity for online search.
The announcement raised the prospect of AI challengers gaining a powerful new route to millions of users across two of Google’s biggest products.
But City AM understands the regulator must first determine what constitutes an eligible AI provider, with individual services then needing to meet those requirements before they can appear.
Choice screens allow consumers to select which search service becomes their default, giving providers a direct route to users that may otherwise stick with Google’s own product.
Under the wider proposals, Google would have to show UK customers a choice of search services when they first use an Android phone or open Chrome, followed by another prompt every year.
“The way people search for information online is changing, with new services creating fresh opportunities for innovation and competition”, CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said.
“We’ve listened carefully to feedback and are responding quickly to the rise of AI assistants, which people are increasingly using as their search service, but aren’t included on Google’s choice screens”.
Google declined to comment.
Who gets on the screen? #
Precisely which AI companies could benefit remains unresolved.
The CMA has said AI assistants should be allowed onto the screens “where they meet the relevant criteria”, including technical and security requirements, but is now seeking views on how those conditions should work.
This leaves the door open to services such as ChatGPT and Perplexity without guaranteeing either a place.
The regulator is also proposing that any provider appearing on the screen must clearly and accurately attribute publisher content it uses, so users can identify and access the original source.
The requirement comes amid growing tensions between publishers, search engines and AI companies over the use of online content to generate answers without users clicking through to the original website.
Google itself is increasingly moving traditional search towards AI-generated answers through products including AI Overviews and AI Mode.
The latest intervention follows the CMA’s decision to designate Google with “strategic market status” in search, giving the watchdog powers to impose targeted competition rules on the company.
The CMA is seeking responses to its latest proposals until 9 October and expects to make a final decision by the end of the year.