Google is facing new regulatory scrutiny after being designated with strategic market status in October last year, a move linked to its dominance of the UK search market, where it accounts for more than 90% of searches.

The search engine giant has been told to make its search rankings more transparent in the UK, in a major regulatory move that could reshape how businesses understand sudden traffic losses, algorithm changes and visibility inside AI-generated search results.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority has introduced new conduct requirements for Google’s search services, including rules that apply to organic rankings and AI Overviews.

The regulator says Google must rank organic results using objective and non-discriminatory criteria, give businesses clearer information about how rankings work, and provide sufficient notice before major changes that could affect publishers and businesses.

For businesses that rely on search traffic, this is not a minor technical update. It strikes at one of the biggest frustrations in the digital economy.

Google can change rankings overnight, wipe out traffic, reduce visibility, and leave publishers, retailers and service businesses with little explanation and almost no practical way to challenge the outcome.

Under the UK rules, Google must also create clearer processes for businesses to raise concerns when manual actions or major ranking changes cause harm.

The CMA said businesses had complained that Google’s current ranking practices were not fair or transparent, and that sudden changes made without enough notice were affecting investment and growth.

The most significant detail is that the rules extend into AI search. Google’s AI Overviews are no longer being treated as a side feature sitting above search results.

Regulators are now treating them as part of the ranking and visibility system that determines which businesses, publishers and sources get attention online.

Google Given Six Months

Google has been given six months to implement the fair ranking requirement.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has imposed two legally binding conduct requirements on Google, aimed at making search fairer for businesses and giving users greater control over their data.

The measures apply to Google’s organic search results and AI Overviews, and form part of the regulator’s push to curb the company’s dominance in online search.

1. Fair Ranking Requirement – (6-Month Implementation)

Google has also been given six months to comply with a new fair ranking requirement covering organic search results and AI Overviews.

Under the rule, Google must apply objective and non-discriminatory criteria when ranking search results.

It must also give businesses advance notice of significant ranking changes and create clearer processes for handling complaints when companies believe they have been unfairly affected.

The requirements mark a significant intervention into how Google operates in the UK search market, where regulators have raised concerns about transparency, competition and the ability of businesses to challenge ranking decisions.

2. Data Portability Requirement (3-Month Implementation)

Google must turn its existing UK Data Portability API from a voluntary tool into a legally binding requirement within three months.

The rule is designed to let UK consumers transfer their search data to authorised third parties, including services such as rewards platforms, cashback programs and personalised travel providers.

The CMA says this could give rival services a better chance to compete by allowing users to move their data more easily.

Google has pushed back against the idea that its ranking systems are unfair, telling Reuters it is committed to protecting the integrity of its systems and that its rankings are fair, transparent and designed to show relevant, high-quality results.

The move comes amid wider pressure on Google’s AI search products.

In Germany, a court has ruled that Google can be held liable for false statements generated by AI Overviews, after the feature reportedly produced misleading claims about two publishers.

The court found that AI Overviews can create new statements rather than simply display third-party links, raising fresh legal questions about Google’s responsibility for AI-generated search answers.

For now, the fair ranking rules apply only in the UK. But the public-interest issue is much bigger. Search visibility is no longer just about blue links on a results page.

It now decides which businesses are seen, which publishers survive, which sources are trusted, and which answers AI systems present as authoritative.

If similar rules spread to other markets, Google updates may no longer be allowed to operate as a black box. Businesses and publishers could finally receive more warning before major ranking changes damage traffic, revenue and visibility.