Google warns Europeans will get worse Search results under new EU rules

Google has rolled out major changes to its Search results in Europe after coming under pressure from the European Union's antitrust regulators.

The company says the changes could make Search worse for European users and increase costs for businesses. The overhaul follows a €460 million ($534 million) EU fine in July for allegedly giving Google's own services an unfair advantage in Search. Google described the move as the biggest reduction in the quality of its Search service in its 29-year history.

What is changing on Google Search?

The biggest change affects searches for services such as hotels, flights and restaurants. Google will give greater visibility to specialised comparison services, known as vertical search services. Sites such as Booking.com and Expedia could receive more prominent placement than individual businesses that simply provide their own website, phone number or address. A new format will place one specialised search service prominently at the top, followed by two others with less information.

Google will also show carousels for hotels, airlines and restaurants. However, features such as real-time prices will be removed from those displays. The rankings will ultimately be decided by Google's search algorithm.

Why is the EU forcing Google to change?

The European Commission found that Google had given its own services more prominent treatment than competing third-party services, including in shopping, hotels, transport and sports. Under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), gatekeepers are required to treat competing services fairly. Google was given 60 days to comply or face periodic penalty payments of up to 5% of its worldwide turnover.

The EU also fined Google another €430 million over restrictions on how app developers could direct users towards cheaper offers outside Google Play. That took Google's two July DMA fines to €890 million.

Google says businesses could lose traffic

Google argues the changes will hurt local businesses that depend on direct Search traffic. The company said earlier DMA-related changes had already caused a 30% decline in free direct booking traffic to European businesses. Google also said tests involving millions of European users showed frustration because people sometimes had to repeat searches to find what they wanted. The European Commission, however, argues that the DMA is designed to create fairer competition and give users more choice. For now, the changes apply to European users. Google says users outside the EU will not be affected by this particular Search overhaul.