The Competition and Markets Authority has strengthened proposals that could require Google to give UK Android and Chrome users greater choice over their default search service, including the option to select qualifying AI assistants.
The regulator’s revised plan responds to rapid changes in the way people find information online as generative AI services increasingly compete with traditional search engines for some types of query.
Under the proposals, Google would have to give customers a choice of search services when they begin using an Android phone or open Chrome for the first time. Users would then receive another prompt each year asking them to choose their preferred default provider.
AI assistants could appear on those choice screens if they satisfy technical and security criteria. Search providers included in the system would also be required to attribute publisher content clearly and accurately, allowing users to identify and access the source material behind results.
CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said: “The way people search for information online is changing, with new services creating fresh opportunities for innovation and competition.”
The regulator is consulting on the revised measures until 9 October and expects to reach a final decision on the conduct requirement before the end of 2026.
The intervention is part of the UK’s newer digital-markets competition regime. Google was designated as having strategic market status in general search and search advertising services in October 2025, giving the CMA powers to impose targeted conduct requirements rather than relying solely on conventional competition investigations after problems emerge.
Earlier measures have addressed areas including publisher controls, ranking, and data portability. The latest proposals extend the competition question from how Google operates its own search service to how users encounter alternatives.
Defaults can have significant commercial effects because many customers rarely change the software or service selected when a device or browser is first configured. The design of a choice screen can therefore influence whether smaller providers obtain meaningful access to users without having to acquire them entirely through paid marketing or distribution agreements.
The inclusion of AI assistants broadens the competitive field further. Traditional search typically presents ranked links and information drawn from an indexed web, while generative assistants increasingly answer questions directly. The distinction between search engine, browser, assistant, and operating system is becoming less clear as technology groups integrate AI functions into established products.
Publishers have a separate interest in how that transition develops. Search engines historically sent substantial referral traffic to external websites, while an AI-generated response can give users information without requiring them to click through. Attribution requirements are therefore connected to both competition and the economics of digital publishing.
For Google, the measures would add another UK-specific layer of conduct obligations in a market where it retains a large established distribution base through Android and Chrome. Competing search and AI providers would gain a more direct route to users if they qualify for inclusion on the choice screens.
The proposals may also affect product design. Google would need to create a process that treats eligible providers consistently while maintaining security, reliability, and a usable customer experience across devices and browsers.
The regulator has not yet imposed the strengthened choice requirement. Responses to the consultation may still alter its design, including the technical eligibility criteria for AI assistants and the operation of annual prompts.
The final decision expected later this year will show how far the UK intends to treat generative AI as part of the competitive search market rather than as a separate category of technology.
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