The Competition and Markets Authority said on 5 November that Google has been designated with strategic market status in general search and search advertising, and has had three conduct requirements imposed on it.
The CMA confirmed the designation on 10 October 2025, and the requirements imposed so far cover publishers, fair ranking and data portability. A further requirement on user choice is out for consultation.
The CMA said at the time that designation “is not a finding of wrongdoing and does not introduce any immediate requirements”. Obligations come from conduct requirements imposed afterwards under Chapter 3 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which may be imposed at any point after designation.
Under section 2 of the Act, the CMA may designate a firm where it has substantial and entrenched market power and a position of strategic significance in a digital activity. The designation period is five years, beginning the day after the decision notice is given (section 18).
The CMA said in its final decision that Google accounts for more than 90% of general search queries in the UK, measured by queries to traditional general search providers and search-grounded AI queries.
Will Hayter, executive director for digital markets at the CMA, said Google “maintains a strategic position in the search and search advertising sector”.
The CMA opened its investigation on 14 January 2025 and consulted on a proposed decision in June 2025. It said it then received feedback from more than 80 stakeholders.
Search advertising is where an advertiser pays for its advert to appear next to the results from a user’s search. The designation covers Google Ads, Search Ads 360 and AdSense for Search when they provide advertising to users of general search, but not otherwise.
Other AI-based search features, such as AI Overviews and AI Mode, are within scope. The Gemini AI assistant is not, although the CMA said that position will be kept under review and could change after consultation.
Google’s Discover feed, Top Stories and news tab are within scope. The separate Google News app and website are not, and nor are syndication services used by a website only to search its own content.
The CMA consulted on a package of conduct requirements on 28 January. It imposed the publisher conduct requirement on 3 June.
That requirement obliges Google to give publishers effective controls over the use of their search content in generative AI, and to provide clear and detailed metrics on user engagement with that content in search generative AI features.
Google must also publish information explaining how publishers’ search content is used in its generative AI and how it approaches attribution. It must take reasonable steps to ensure that search content is attributed clearly and accurately in general search, and that users have a clear means to access it.
The CMA imposed its fair ranking and data portability requirements on 17 June. The CMA’s case record gives no further detail of their terms.
On 23 September the CMA launched a further consultation on a user choice conduct requirement, accompanied by user research on choice screens in search.
Beyond conduct requirements, the Act allows the CMA to make pro-competition interventions where, following an investigation, it considers that a factor or combination of factors is having an adverse effect on competition. The CMA published a roadmap of possible interventions in June 2025.