TL;DR

Google has told the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that putting rival AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude on its choice screens would be unlawful, the Telegraph reported on 27 October. In its consultation response, Google argues the regulator left AI assistants out of the original investigation’s scope. The CMA says it is reviewing all responses before deciding.

Google’s case

The CMA gave Google “strategic market status” in search in October 2025, opened a consultation on choice screens for rival search engines in January, and widened it to cover AI assistants in September. Under the proposals, users would see a pop-up offering a choice of search services and AI assistants.

Google’s response makes three arguments, according to the Telegraph. The first is legal: because AI assistants sat outside the market investigation, adding them to the conduct requirements would, in Google’s words, be “unlawful”. The second is that the measure would defeat its own purpose, since “rival search services, whose growth the CMA intended to support, would be crowded out by already-successful AI assistants”. The third concerns publishers: Google says routing people to AI tools would send fewer visitors to news sites than traditional search does.

In our view, the position carries an irony: Google is resisting a rule that would promote competitors to its own Gemini assistant, while arguing that the same rule would hurt smaller search rivals.

A strained relationship

The dispute adds to existing friction. After its designation, Google warned that “punitive regulations” could turn the CMA into a “roadblock to UK growth”. The Telegraph also notes that Rachel Reeves, then chancellor, removed CMA chair Marcus Bokkerink in 2025 amid concern that enforcement was holding back growth.

Google is not the only target. The CMA is separately considering strategic market status for Microsoft over Copilot in its business software. Our September report covered the earlier stage of the choice screen plans, when eligibility rules for AI assistants were still open.

Looking Forward

The CMA now has to decide whether AI assistants belong on the screens at all. In our view, Google’s scope argument is the one to watch: if the regulator accepts that the original investigation did not cover AI assistants, it may need a fresh process to include them. For UK businesses building AI assistants, a place on the screen would offer a direct route to Google’s users, which is why the outcome matters beyond the two parties.