On October 9, the News/Media Alliance filed comments with the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in response to a further consultation on the CMA’s proposed User Choice conduct requirement to address Google’s Strategic Market Status in general search. NMA’s earlier comments filed in February called for users to have the option to opt-out of Google’s AI search experiences and for AI assistants and chatbots to be excluded from the Search Choice Screen. While CMA’s further consultation documents seemingly reject both proposals, NMA’s comments reiterate our support for the proposals and note that there are various reasons why users may prefer non-AI search experiences. The comments call for the information screen at a minimum to clearly explain that some of the services may contain AI-generated results, highlight that such results may contain errors, and note whether each listed service incorporates AI-generated content. The comments also note that if AI assistants and chatbots are included in the Search Choice Screen, they should be required to meet the same stringent standards that are imposed on Google under the Publisher conduct requirement, published earlier. Read the full comments here.
