Sean Walsh
Sean is a Director at Intelligency heading up our digital marketing and client services operations. Sean has 15+ years experiencing working both in-house and agency with brands including Lloyds, Alstom, Hitachi, Lufthansa, Viaplay, DFDS Seaways and Mercedes-Benz.
Google could soon face new rules in the UK that may change how businesses appear in search results and how digital ads are bought and displayed, particularly as AI becomes a bigger part of search.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which ensures fair competition between businesses, is investigating how Google runs its Search and Advertising services. Their main focus is on Google’s new AI-powered search features, which often show AI-generated answers instead of a list of website links.
The CMA has raised concerns about:
- Whether Google is ranking websites fairly in search results
- High costs for advertising on Google Search
- Use of other websites’ content in AI-generated summaries without clear permission
To deal with this, the CMA is considering giving Google a label called Strategic Market Status (SMS). If applied, this status would allow the CMA to enforce specific rules on Google without needing to prove the company has broken competition laws.
This status would apply to Google’s AI search features, although not to Gemini, its AI assistant tool.
Why this matters for digital marketers
If Google is given this new status, it could lead to:
- Changes in how ads are placed and displayed in search results
- Shifts in how visible your website or content is on Google, especially when AI summaries appear instead of traditional links
- Potential changes in ad pricing, which could impact your digital marketing budget
These changes could increase competition in the search market, which may benefit smaller businesses. However, they may also bring new compliance issues and require updates to your marketing strategies.
What Google is saying
Google has criticised the CMA’s proposals, calling them too broad and unfocused. The company warned that unclear rules could get in the way of progress in AI development.
“Evidence-based regulation will be essential to avoid turning a roadmap into a roadblock,” Google said.
What’s next
The CMA’s current review ends on 13 October 2025. If they move forward, a second, more in-depth phase will begin in early 2026. This next stage could look at other areas of Google’s business, such as:
- Its dominance in the ad market
- How it works with publishers
- How it treats rival search engines
If your work relies on Google ads or organic search traffic, it’s worth keeping an eye on these developments.
