The UK CMA proposes rules requiring Google and Android OEMs to offer search choice screens on first use and via yearly prompts, new AI assistant rules, and more
Context & Ripple Effects
The CMA’s proposal follows OpenAI’s March 2026 request to include search-capable chatbots in mandated default-search choice screens, a push toward treating AI search services as eligible distribution choices. It also parallels the EU’s July 2026 orders for Google to give rival search engines and AI assistants comparable Android access, making the UK proposal part of a broader challenge to default placement on mobile platforms.
First-order effects
- Google and Android OEMs would need to build search-choice flows at device setup and repeat them annually if the CMA adopts the proposal, reducing the durability of Google’s default position.
- Eligible AI services would gain a formal route into Chrome and Android search selection, while Google’s AI-assistant design and distribution would face additional CMA rules.
Second-order effects
- OpenAI and other search-capable AI providers would have a stronger basis to compete for user selection on Android, shifting rivalry from standalone app adoption toward system-level distribution.
- Android OEMs would become compliance partners in the CMA’s search regime, adding recurring choice-screen obligations alongside Google’s platform requirements.
Third-order effects
- If implemented alongside the EU’s Android-access orders, competition policy is moving from prohibiting particular conduct toward requiring ongoing distribution parity for search engines and AI assistants.
- Annual prompts would make default status a periodically contestable market position, rather than a one-time device-setting advantage.
The trend: European competition regulators are extending choice and access remedies from conventional search defaults to AI assistants that can act as search gateways.