The Competition and Markets Authority on Wednesday issued conduct requirements under the U.K.’s digital markets competition rules, ordering Google to apply objective and nondiscriminatory criteria when ranking search results on its platform. The requirements apply to all search features, including summaries generated by artificial intelligence through Google’s AI Overviews service.
Under the order, Google must increase transparency about how its ranking systems work, provide advance notice of any significant changes, and establish clear processes for businesses to raise concerns about how they are ranked. The company has six months to comply.
“Search is a vital gateway for businesses in the U.K. to reach customers, and clearer, predictable and more transparent ranking systems could give them greater scope to expand and invest,” Will Hayter, the CMA’s executive director for digital markets, said in a statement. “These new measures will ensure search results are ranked fairly and objectively.”
The CMA said it acted after receiving complaints that Google’s current ranking practices were not fair and that changes were made without sufficient notice, harming businesses and leaving them with no effective channels to raise concerns.
A Google spokesperson defended the company’s practices. “Our ranking systems are fair, transparent and show the most relevant and highest quality results,” the spokesperson said. “We are committed to protecting the integrity of our systems, and will work constructively with the CMA to ensure that we can uphold the high quality of Search for our users.”
Separately, the CMA issued a directive requiring Google to allow U.K. users to easily share their search data with third parties, including rewards platforms, companies that offer personalized offers or discount codes, and other services. Google already provides a Data Portability Application Programming Interface (API) for such purposes, but the CMA said the conduct requirement makes that voluntary process legally binding. Google has three months to comply with the data-sharing order, which the watchdog said would give U.K. users the same rights on data sharing as those in the European Union under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act.
This is the second intervention the CMA has taken against Google in June. Earlier this month, the regulator said it would allow publishers to opt out of feeding their content to power AI features in Google’s online searches.