UK CMA Proposes AI Assistants on Search Choice Screens

Your customers find you through Google, and today's headline says the UK regulator wants people offered AI assistants when they pick a search service on Android and Chrome. That can land like a threat to the one channel you rely on most. The CMA search choice screen AI assistants proposal is real, dated and published, but it is a proposal under consultation, not a rule anyone has to follow yet. It covers specific Android devices and Chrome installations, and it does not put any named assistant on anyone's phone. The details matter, because they decide what you should do this week and what you can safely leave alone. The good news is that the most useful step does not depend on how the consultation ends. You can take it today, in about ten minutes, with accounts you may already have.

Get the Facts on What the CMA Proposed Today

On September 23, 2026, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published strengthened proposals on choice over search services. In its words, Google would have to give Android and Chrome customers a choice of search services when they use their Android phone or open Chrome for the first time, "followed by a prompt every year to choose the default provider." The same announcement says the proposals would allow AI assistants to be included "where they meet the relevant criteria, including technical and security requirements."

That is the whole change in one breath. A person setting up a covered device or browser would pick a default search service from a list. That list could, in principle, include an AI assistant that passes the eligibility test.

It is not in force. The consultation page on GOV.UK says it opened on September 23, 2026 and closes at 5 p.m. on October 9, 2026. The CMA says it expects to reach a final decision by the end of the year. Until then, nothing on any customer's phone changes because of this document.

The last row comes from the 72-page consultation document, which proposes that the requirement come into force within six months of being imposed. So, even on the CMA's expected timeline, no screen would appear the moment a decision is announced.

See Which Phones and Browsers Would Show the UK Search Choice Screen

The UK search choice screen in this proposal is not a blanket rule for every device in the country. The consultation document defines two groups, a "Relevant Device" and a "Relevant Browser," and sets different moments for each. Knowing which customers could see the screen, and when, keeps you from planning around a change that may never reach them. The three parts below follow the CMA's own definitions.

Android devices with Google Search set as default

A covered device is an Android device meant for distribution in the UK where the manufacturer has chosen to pre-install the Google Search app, a search widget or Chrome, and has set Google Search as the default. On a new covered device distributed after the requirement fully comes into force, the choice screen could not be skipped on first use or setup. The document also notes that Google currently runs an Android choice screen voluntarily, which is different from being required to under this proposal.

Google Chrome on desktop, mobile and tablet

The browser rule is wider than phones. It covers the Chrome application on any desktop, mobile or tablet operating system, including Windows, Android and iOS/iPadOS, meant for distribution in the UK, where Google has set Google Search as the default. A newly installed Chrome browser would show a screen that cannot be skipped on first use. People already using Chrome would see a screen that cannot be skipped as part of the first major update after the requirement fully comes into force.

How often people would see it

After that first screen, the proposal calls for a notification that is "skippable and visually limited" at least once a year, which takes the person back to the choice screen if they select it. Google could skip that yearly notification for someone who deliberately chose or changed their default search provider in the previous six months. The CMA says it made the yearly notification skippable after hearing concerns about interrupting users with screens they cannot dismiss.

The practical meaning for you is that a customer could meet this choice once at setup and then be invited, not forced, to revisit it once a year. The proposal changes the default search service at defined access points, such as the Chrome address bar and the home-screen search widget. It does not remove Google Search from anyone's device.

Learn Which AI Assistants Could Qualify, and Who Decides

This is the part of the CMA Google choice screen story that headlines tend to shorten. The proposal does not put a named assistant on any screen. It sets a test, gives Google the job of applying it, and gives the CMA oversight of that process. The test and the list would work as follows, according to the consultation document.

The three eligibility criteria

To be an "Eligible Provider," a service would have to meet all three criteria in the proposed requirement:

• Wide coverage: Adequately address the full range of use cases of a general search service on a wide range of subjects, including by searching the web.
• A working service: Provide a functioning general search experience for the relevant search access points.
• Recognized as search: Be considered by a significant proportion of UK users of the service to provide a general search service.

The CMA calls this approach technology neutral. It writes that the line between AI-based services and other search services is "increasingly blurred," and that, provided they meet the criteria, AI assistants "could in theory" be listed on the choice screen.

Who approves providers, and how the list is shown

Google would determine which applicants meet the criteria, running an approval process every six months under the proposal, and report to the CMA. If twelve or fewer providers qualify, all of them appear on each screen. If more qualify, Google would show twelve chosen fairly: under the CMA's guidance, the five most popular plus seven picked fully at random. The list would appear in a fully random order, and people would have to scroll through it before confirming a choice.

The CMA's announcement mentions ChatGPT and Perplexity as examples of services people are using, but it does not name any assistant as eligible. Treat any report that a specific assistant "will be on the screen" as ahead of the published text.

Where Gemini fits

Google's own Gemini assistant sits outside this question for a separate reason. When the CMA confirmed Google's strategic market status in search on October 10, 2025, it put AI Overviews and AI Mode in scope and left Gemini out, saying it would review that as the market develops. The consultation says that decision was about Google's products, not the whole sector, and does not stop other AI assistants from qualifying.

Plan Around Real Dates Instead of Headlines

The proposal sits on top of a process that has been running for almost two years. Knowing the order of events helps you tell which parts are settled and which are still open. The timeline below uses dates from the CMA's own publications and the case page for Google's search services.

The strategic market status designation is what lets the CMA propose rules like this one. On its own, it required nothing. The choice screen only becomes a requirement if the CMA imposes it after the consultation, and the final version may differ from today's draft.

You may have seen choice screens in the EU. Google described its Digital Markets Act changes in 2024, including extra choice screens, and the European Commission's 2024 DMA report covers Alphabet's screens on Chrome and Pixel. The UK proposal is a separate measure under UK law, with its own definitions, so EU experience is a loose guide at best.

Read the Responses So Far Without Treating Them as Final Positions

Google and at least one AI company have already said what they think about choice screens, but they were responding to the January 2026 consultation, not today's revised version.

In its March 18, 2026 response to the earlier consultation, Google said it supported fairness and choice but objected to annual, interruptive screens and proposed a permanent central settings switch instead. It also said UK Android setup already displayed choice screens. OpenAI's published submission to the January consultation argued that AI chatbots with search functions should not be excluded from an effective screen.

No statement from Google, OpenAI, Perplexity or another provider responding specifically to the September 23 proposal was found in the CMA release or the providers' public statements checked on its publication date. Read the earlier positions as background, and watch for new responses before the October 9 deadline.

Run the Ten-Minute Check That Pays Off Whatever the CMA Decides

Nobody can tell you today which assistants will qualify, when a customer's phone might show a new list, or what share of people would pick something other than Google. There is no published evidence supporting a traffic forecast for UK businesses from this announcement, so do not plan around one. What you can control is whether the facts about your business are correct in the places people already look. That work helps now, and it still helps if the requirement changes or never takes effect in this form.

There is also no special listing to submit to. The proposal gives no business a new way to sign up for a choice screen or an assistant. The useful work sits in the tools each platform already provides.

Treat that last step as a diagnostic, not a ranking test. One answer that leaves you out is not proof that you are excluded, and repeating a prompt until you get the answer you want tells you nothing useful.

Why each listing is worth the minutes

Each platform gives you its own tool for its own surfaces. Google's Business Profile guidelines ask you to represent the business as it is consistently recognized in the real world, use an accurate address or service area, pick the fewest categories that fit and keep one profile per business, and they warn that inaccurate details or duplicates can cause display problems or removal. Microsoft says Bing Places is how you add or change business information in Bing Maps results, and you manage it at Bing Places. Apple's Business Connect getting started guide says your place card can appear in Maps, Siri, Mail, Tap to Pay on iPhone and other Apple features.

None of these tools guarantees that any assistant will mention you. They give you control over your own facts in each place, which is the part you can actually fix.

Make your own website the reference copy

Your site should state your current name, location or service area, phone, hours, services and how to book or get in touch, on pages search engines can crawl. Add LocalBusiness structured data or Organization markup that matches what the page visibly says. When a listing and your site disagree, fix the site first, then bring each listing into line with it. If AI answers are already getting your details wrong, our post on what to do when Google's AI Overview is wrong about your business walks through the corrections.

Know When the Fix Is Small and When You Want Help

The check will usually tell you which kind of problem you have, if any. No platform publishes a fixed turnaround, and platform review can delay a change even when you do everything right.

If your listings and site already agree and you control them, the check plus routine upkeep may be all you need for now. Help makes sense when the check turns up duplicates, conflicting records, lost access, several locations or a website that cannot serve as the reference copy. It also makes sense if you want someone to keep watching what AI assistants say about you as this plays out. Whoever you hire should report what they changed, and nobody can promise you a place on a CMA choice screen or in an assistant's answer.

This post reports the CMA's published proposal and does not give legal advice. If your business has a direct stake in the outcome, the consultation page explains how to respond before the deadline.

Frequently Asked Questions About cma search choice screen ai assistants

Is the CMA search choice screen rule final?

No. The CMA opened a consultation on September 23, 2026. Comments close at 5 p.m. on October 9, 2026, and the CMA expects a final decision by the end of the year.

What does the CMA proposal on AI assistants for Android and Chrome actually cover?

It covers Android devices meant for UK distribution where the manufacturer pre-installs Google Search, the search widget or Chrome with Google Search as the default, and Chrome on desktop, mobile and tablet where Google Search is the default.

Will ChatGPT or Perplexity be on the UK search choice screen?

The CMA has not said so. Its announcement mentions them as examples of services people use, but any assistant would appear only if Google determines it meets the three eligibility criteria.

When would people start seeing the screen?

Not before a final decision. The consultation proposes the requirement come into force within six months of being imposed, with a screen that cannot be skipped at first setup and a skippable yearly notification after that.

Do I need to register my business for the CMA Google choice screen?

No. The proposal is about which search service a person picks as their default, and it creates no listing for businesses to submit. Keep your Google, Bing and Apple listings and your website accurate instead.

Will this change my Google ranking or traffic?

No CMA source sets out a ranking or traffic effect for businesses, and there is no published evidence for a forecast. Check your listings rather than planning around a guessed number.

Wrapping Up

The CMA has proposed, not adopted, a rule that would give people on certain UK Android devices and Chrome installations a choice of default search service, with a screen at setup and a skippable yearly prompt. AI assistants could join that list only if Google finds they meet the published criteria, under CMA oversight. Comments close at 5 p.m. on October 9, 2026, and a final decision is expected by the end of the year. Nothing changes on your customers' devices before then.

What you can do now is make sure every place a customer might look shows the same correct name, location, phone and hours. That work pays for itself in fewer missed calls and wrong turns, whichever search service your customers end up choosing.

If the check turns up duplicates, locked listings or a website that does not say clearly what you do and where, Web Leveling can sort it out and keep it current. Our generative engine optimization work covers how your business shows up in AI answers as well as search, and we report exactly what we changed. We work with small and medium businesses across the country and overseas. Tell us what your listings and AI answers are showing, and we will reply with what needs fixing first.

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