Google may still change its search engine in the European Union

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Like Apple, Amazon or Microsoft, Google has been forced to make changes to its products in order to comply with the Digital Markets Act, the European legislation that regulates digital giants. As a reminder, the objective of this legislation is to guarantee fair and open digital markets, by offering more opportunities to competitors of tech giants designated as “gatekeepers”.

Regarding its search engine, Google has announced more than 20 changes, including new products for comparison sites. Google assures that the changes it has made have already benefited large aggregators and online travel comparison sites, while reducing traffic from airlines, hotels and small businesses. However, according to it, comparison sites are now pushing Google to implement other changes.

In a recent statement, the firm said it is proposing new changes to its search engine in the EU to meet these demands. These new changes include “expanded, same-size units that let users choose between results that take them to comparison sites and results that take them directly to supplier websites when searching for products, restaurants, flights or hotels.”

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Google will also test a radical change

“While many stakeholders are happy with our changes, a few sites continue to demand more, such as a complete ban on anything more sophisticated than a simple blue link to a website. This would prevent Google from displaying useful information, such as prices and ratings”, we also read in the recent publication of the Mountain View firm.

In response to these requests, it will conduct a small test in Germany, Belgium and Estonia, in order to know what impact this radical change would have on its search engine and on website traffic. During the test, Google will remove the features offered to hotels that are at the heart of the debate, such as the map that indicates the location of the establishment. The search engine will now only display simple links, as on very old versions of Google. But the firm indicates that it is not in favor of this option, and that the results of its search engine will return to normal at the end of the test.

• To comply with the DMA, Google has made several changes to its search engine
• But the firm indicates that these changes do not satisfy the comparators and, as a result, it is proposing new modifications
• Google will also launch a radical test during which it will only display blue links for certain requests

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