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UK moves to curb Google’s search dominance under new Big Tech powers

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Britain’s competition regulator has designated Google as having strategic market status in online search — a landmark ruling that gives the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) sweeping new powers to reshape how the tech giant operates in the UK.

The CMA said Google controls over 90% of all UK search traffic, cementing a dominant position in both search and search advertising. The designation, announced Friday, does not imply wrongdoing but allows the regulator to intervene directly to ensure fairer competition and impose fines for non-compliance.

The CMA outlined potential changes earlier this year, including fairer ranking systems, easier switching to alternative search engines, and greater publisher control over how their content is used in AI-generated responses. These measures could particularly affect Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode features, though its Gemini AI assistant remains outside the current scope.

Google’s Senior Director for Competition, Oliver Bethell, argued the proposals “would inhibit UK innovation and growth” at a time of “profound AI-based innovation.” The company recently announced a £5 billion investment in Britain.

The ruling marks the CMA’s first use of its expanded Big Tech authority, introduced to address the dominance of firms like Google, Apple, and Amazon. The regulator’s second probe—into mobile operating systems—could also lead to another designation targeting Android.

The move follows mounting global scrutiny: the EU fined Google $3.45 billion for antitrust violations in ad tech last month, while U.S. regulators are pressing to break up parts of its advertising empire.

Competition lawyer Tom Smith, a former CMA director, said the decision could rebalance the market by “giving website operators more control over how their content is used for AI training,” curbing Google’s advantage in artificial intelligence.

Google brings Gemini AI to Chrome after antitrust ruling spares breakup

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Google announced it is rolling out its Gemini AI models directly into the Chrome browser for U.S. desktop users starting Thursday, marking one of the company’s most ambitious integrations of AI into its core products. The move comes just weeks after a federal judge spared Google from a forced breakup in a high-profile antitrust case but ordered it to share data with competitors to level the playing field in online search.

The Gemini add-on will first be available on Mac and Windows desktops in English, with plans to expand soon to Chrome’s iOS app. Business rollouts will follow in the coming weeks through Google Workspace, and mobile integrations are also on the way.

Gemini in Chrome will be tied more deeply into other Google services such as Calendar, YouTube, and Maps, enabling multi-step “agentic” capabilities in the coming months. These include finding previously visited webpages, summarizing content across multiple sites, and carrying out automated tasks on a user’s behalf.

The move positions Google against rivals developing “agentic browsers,” such as Perplexity, which recently offered $34.5 billion in cash for Chrome and launched its own AI browser, Comet.

Judge Amit Mehta’s September ruling allowed Google to keep control of Chrome and Android but barred exclusive contracts with device makers and browser developers. The decision still permits Google to pay partners like Apple to feature its search engine, reinforcing its dominance in search. Meanwhile, reports suggest Apple has discussed adopting Gemini AI to power a revamped Siri, further tightening ties between the two companies.