The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) publishes strengthened proposals that would require Google to include AI assistants as options in certain Android and Chrome “choice screens” for search. The CMA says the changes are intended to address how search and related services are presented to users as AI assistants become more prominent.
Under the proposals, Google would need to present search-provider choice prompts that meet specific timing requirements, and any AI assistant listed would have to qualify under technical and security criteria set by the regulator. The CMA also describes how AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Perplexity could be included alongside traditional search options, depending on whether they satisfy those requirements.
Both outlets report the core elements of the CMA’s plan, including the regulator’s focus on expanding the set of options available to users on Google-managed platforms. The main difference is emphasis: one outlet highlights the emerging possibility that an AI assistant could appear on the next search choice screen, while the other focuses on the watchlist nature of the proposal to force Google to offer AI search alternatives.
