LONDON, U.K.: The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced a probe into Google's search services to assess their impact on consumers, businesses, advertisers, and competitors.

This investigation comes amid global scrutiny of the tech giant's market dominance, including recent calls in the U.S. to break up the company.

CMA chief Sarah Cardell emphasized the importance of ensuring fair competition in search services. "Millions of people and businesses rely on Google's search and advertising services," she said. "It's our job to ensure people get the full benefit of choice and innovation in search services and get a fair deal."

Google, which handles 90 percent of online searches in the UK and supports over 200,000 local businesses, is expected to cooperate with the investigation. Oliver Bethell, Google's competition director, highlighted the economic benefits of the company's services.

"Digital services like Search will power new economic development in the UK," Bethell stated, adding that Google would engage with the CMA and outline how its services benefit users. He also warned against overly restrictive regulations, saying, "Prescriptive digital competition rules would end up stifling choice and opportunity for consumers and businesses."

The CMA's inquiry will determine whether Google has Strategic Market Status (SMS) in search and search advertising. If granted SMS designation, the CMA can impose conduct requirements or market interventions. The investigation will explore barriers to entry and innovation and whether Google uses its dominance to favor its own services.

Google's data collection practices will also be scrutinized, particularly concerning consumer data and its use in AI-driven services. The CMA noted the potential for AI-powered search engines, such as ChatGPT, to challenge Google's dominance and plans to evaluate Google's role in shaping the development of such technologies.

This investigation follows recent U.S. actions against Google, including allegations of antitrust violations and calls to divest parts of its business. In the UK, the CMA is already investigating Google, Amazon, and Microsoft in cloud computing and plans to probe the Google-Apple duopoly in mobile browsers.

The CMA's findings, expected within nine months, could lead to measures such as mandating data-sharing with competitors or granting publishers more control over their content in Google's AI services.