The Ghost in the Machine: UK Regulator Takes on AI’s Impact on Search

The UK’s competition regulator is taking on the “ghost in the machine”—the growing influence of artificial intelligence on internet search. By including Google’s AI-powered features in its new regulatory designation, the Competition and Market Authority (CMA) is making a bold statement that AI will not be allowed to operate in a regulatory vacuum.
Google’s AI Overviews represent a fundamental shift in how search works. They transform the search engine from a directory of links into a direct provider of answers. While this can be convenient, it raises profound questions about competition, information diversity, and intellectual property that the CMA is determined to address.
One of the main concerns is that this new AI layer could further entrench Google’s dominance. By providing answers directly, Google captures even more of the user’s attention and reduces the traffic that flows to the independent websites that form the open web. This could starve competitors and publishers of the oxygen they need to survive.
The CMA’s proposal to give publishers more control over how their content is used in “AI-generated responses” is a direct attempt to exorcise this ghost. It aims to ensure that the human creators behind the AI’s knowledge are not rendered invisible and uncompensated by the machine.
This is one of the first times a major regulator has explicitly extended its competition powers to cover the specific functions of generative AI within a dominant platform. It’s a sign that as AI becomes more integrated into our core technologies, regulators are gearing up to ensure it serves the public interest, not just the interests of its creators.