Google Offers Search Updates Amid Increasing Antitrust Pressure

Google has reportedly proposed changes to its search results ahead of a possible antitrust fine.

That’s according to a report Wednesday (July 2) by Reuters, citing an internal company document. It comes one week before a crucial meeting that could bring additional fines from European regulators to the tech giant.

Google in March was accused by the European Union of unfairly favoring its shopping, lodging and travel services over rivals. The document said Google is set to meet with competitors and the European Commission next week to go over its proposals at a workshop in Brussels.

Reuters notes that Google last week had offered to include at the top of the search page for a so-called “vertical search service” (VSS) which would feature links to specialized search engines along with hotels, airlines, dining and transport services.

Now, the company has an alternative offer, dubbed Option B, the report added, citing a Google document sent by the Commission.

“Under ‘Option B’, whenever a VSS box is shown, Google will also show a box that includes free links to suppliers,” the document said.

The box for supplies like hotels and airlines would sit below the VSS box, with Google organizing the information about the suppliers. This would give these suppliers “opportunities while not creating a box that can be characterized as a Google VSS,” the document said.

The news comes as Google’s search business is facing added pressures in the U.K. That country’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced last week that it is considering a proposal that would give the company “strategic market status.”

That’s a designation under new competition rules for tech firms that command higher levels of power in their markets.

“Google is the world’s leading search tool and plays an important role in all our lives, with the average person in the UK making 5 to 10 searches a day,” Sarah Cardell, the CMA’s chief executive, said in a news release.

“It is equally critical for over 200,000 UK businesses which rely on Google to reach their customers. Google search has delivered tremendous benefits — but our investigation so far suggests there are ways to make these markets more open, competitive and innovative,” Cardell added.

And that’s not Google’s only search-related headache. As PYMNTS wrote earlier this week, the company is losing ground as users spend more time with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.