UK CMA designates Google strategic market status in search

The United Kingdom's competition regulator on Friday designated Google as having strategic market status in general search and search advertising, granting the authority new powers to consider targeted interventions in the services that dominate the UK online search market. The Competition and Markets Authority said it had concluded the legal tests under new digital markets legislation and that Google’s position in search and search advertising is sufficiently entrenched to warrant special regulatory oversight.

The designation covers Google’s general search and search advertising services and includes AI features directly integrated into searches, such as AI Mode and AI Overviews, along with elements like the Discover feed, Top Stories and the News tab. It does not extend to the Google News app and website, search syndication services, or the Gemini AI assistant, although the regulator said it will keep the scope under review as the AI search market evolves. The CMA added that the step is not a finding of wrongdoing and does not impose immediate requirements.

The CMA said Google carries more than 90 percent of queries in the UK and is used by more than 200,000 UK businesses to...