# UK CMA: let ChatGPT, Perplexity onto Google's choice screen

Published: 2026-09-23T14:35:22.000Z · Source: UK CMA (Google-filtered) (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-strengthens-proposals-allowing-people-choice-over-their-search-service)
Source date: 2026-09-23
Entities: google, chatgpt, perplexity

The UK Competition and Markets Authority published strengthened proposals for a "user choice conduct requirement" that would let Android and Chrome users pick an AI assistant such as ChatGPT or Perplexity, not just a rival search engine, on Google's default search choice screen — a category the CMA's January 2026 draft did not include. The regulator, which designated Google as holding "strategic market status" in October 2025, said the update responds to "rapid developments" in how people search; assistants would qualify only if they meet the CMA's technical and security criteria, which the announcement does not name or detail. The consultation closes October 9, 2026, with a final decision due by the end of the year.

Why it matters: It's the first sign a competition regulator is willing to treat AI assistants as substitutable for a search engine inside a binding remedy, a definition other regulators sizing up AI search competition will be watching.

## What this answers

**Will UK Android and Chrome users be able to choose ChatGPT or Perplexity instead of Google search?**

The UK's CMA has proposed it, updating its user choice conduct requirement to let AI assistants qualify for Google's search choice screen if they meet its technical and security criteria — the plan is out for consultation until October 9, 2026, not yet final.

**What is Google's strategic market status designation?**

It is the UK CMA's October 2025 classification of Google as holding outsized power in general search and search advertising, the legal basis that lets the regulator impose binding conduct requirements like this one.


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