Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority on Wednesday put forward proposals to give Google Android and Chrome users greater choice and control over the search services they use, including AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Perplexity, Reuters reported.
The tougher rules would require Google to show users a choice of search providers when they first set up an Android phone or open Chrome, prompt them once a year to pick a default, and allow AI assistants that meet the CMA’s technical and security criteria to appear on those screens. The proposals would also require search providers to fairly attribute publisher content so users can access source material and know where results originated.
“The way people search for information online is changing,” CMA Chief Executive Sarah Cardell said, according to Reuters. “We’ve listened carefully to feedback and are responding quickly to the rise of AI assistants, which people are increasingly using as their search service, but aren’t included on Google’s choice screens.”
The proposals are open to consultation until October 9, with the CMA expected to make a final decision by the end of the year. In June, the authority ordered Google to provide greater transparency on how its search rankings work, as part of new rules aimed at boosting competition.
The Wednesday package would put rival general search and qualifying AI assistants onto the same Android and Chrome choice surfaces that currently favor Google defaults, with an annual re-prompt designed to keep the default decision live rather than one-and-done.
This brief covers the CMA’s proposed Android and Chrome choice-screen rules for rival search and AI assistants. It is distinct from AI Tech Daily’s coverage of UK UNGA AI standards remarks and from earlier UK parliamentary AI hearing wires.