Alphabet’s Google has proposed additional changes to the presentation of results on its search engine in an effort to address European Commission concerns under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The move comes as the company faces the prospect of a penalty in the coming months for allegedly favouring its own specialised services over rivals.
The Commission opened formal proceedings in March into whether Google’s search results unlawfully prioritise the firm’s own “vertical” products — including Shopping, Hotels and Flights — to the detriment of competing vertical search services (VSS) and price comparison sites. The case is one of the first high-profile DMA enforcement actions and follows a series of compliance workshops with designated “gatekeepers” this year.
In its updated proposal, Google says it will allow each eligible VSS to display a dedicated box within search results, populated with that provider’s own inventory. The company states that these third-party boxes would carry the same format, information and functionality as comparable Google units. It also proposes that the allocation of the box would be based on objective, non-discriminatory criteria and that commercially sensitive rival data would not be shared.
Google’s document indicates that suppliers — such as hotels, restaurants, airlines and transport services — could appear in a separate “supplier” box, placed either above or below a VSS box depending on relevance to the user’s query. The company frames the package as a “balanced solution” to bring the investigation to a close, while cautioning that further Search changes could tilt outcomes towards a small group of intermediaries over businesses that sell directly.
Third-party services and price comparison sites have previously criticised Google’s July proposal, arguing that prominent proprietary units for Shopping, Hotels and Flights continue to steer traffic to Google’s own services. The new offer appears intended to respond to those objections by standardising presentation and functionality between Google and rivals. Whether the Commission deems the revisions sufficient under the DMA remains to be seen.
Under the DMA, gatekeepers must not favour their own services in rankings or display in ways that materially disadvantage rivals, and they must provide fair access conditions to business users. The law is designed to increase contestability and user choice in digital markets, and grants the Commission powers to impose remedies and fines for non-compliance. The Commission launched a public consultation in July on the first review of the DMA, signalling continued scrutiny of implementation.
The current probe runs alongside other regulatory actions affecting Google in Europe. In the United Kingdom, the Competition and Markets Authority last week designated Google’s search and search advertising services as having “strategic market status” under new UK digital legislation, a step that enables targeted conduct requirements. While separate from the EU case, the UK designation reflects wider regulatory pressure on how Google structures search and related commercial displays.
The Commission is also working through parallel matters under traditional antitrust rules. In late September, according to Reuters reporting, Google received a €2.95 billion fine in an older ad-technology case concerning its ad exchange AdX and related conduct — a separate decision from the DMA investigation but part of a broader enforcement backdrop.
For Google, the immediate question is whether the latest package will satisfy the DMA’s requirements that presentation and ranking do not confer undue preference. The proposed VSS boxes mirror Google’s own modules in form, content and functionality, and the company says placement will be governed by non-discriminatory rules. Market participants that criticised earlier drafts are likely to test whether the practical effect of the offer increases visibility and click-through to rival services, or whether Google’s own units retain de facto prominence in high-value queries such as travel and shopping.
The Commission has not indicated a precise timetable for a decision. Reuters has reported that a fine is possible in the coming months if officials conclude that Google’s measures fall short. Any final outcome could set an early benchmark for DMA compliance in general search, with implications for other gatekeepers that integrate proprietary verticals within core services.
Google, for its part, maintains that it is engaging constructively and seeks to close the investigation. The company reiterates concerns that further mandated changes might advantage intermediaries over direct suppliers, which form a significant constituency among European business users of the platform. The Commission will now assess whether the latest commitments meet the DMA’s standards on self-preferencing and fair display.
