Google revamps its search results in Europe following a €460 million fine

On Tuesday, 8 September 2026, Google began altering the display of its search results in Europe to comply with the requirements of the European Digital Markets Act (DMA). The American company is notably reorganizing the prominence given to specialized comparison services in the travel, hospitality, restaurant, and online retail sectors, after being penalized in July for favoring its own services.

The European Commission had imposed a fine of 460 million euros on Google for self-preferencing in Google Search, as part of a total sanctions package amounting to 890 million euros, which included a second fine of 430 million targeting Google Play. Brussels gave the company 60 days to end the practices deemed contrary to the DMA.

In the new layout, a specialized search engine may appear at the top of the page, followed by two other similar services. Carousels dedicated, for example, to hotels, airlines, or restaurants will remain displayed lower down, but certain information such as real-time prices will be removed in this new configuration.

However, Google disputes the impact of these adjustments. Nick Fox, Vice President of Knowledge and Information, claims they will reduce service quality for European users and benefit intermediaries more than local businesses. This is the company’s view, which says it has tested the changes with millions of users in Europe.

The European Commission, for its part, defends a logic of fairer competition. The DMA prohibits platforms designated as “gatekeepers” from favoring their own services over competitors’ in their rankings. In its decision of 23 July, Brussels specifically cited results related to shopping, hotels, transport, and sports.

Compliance under intense regulatory pressure

Google faces periodic penalties of up to 5% of its global turnover if the Commission deems compliance insufficient. The changes announced on 8 September come at the end of the deadline set after the July decision.

The standoff is not limited to search result displays. In July, the Commission also adopted binding measures to require Google to share certain anonymized ranking, query, click, and browsing data with third-party search engines, under conditions considered fair and non-discriminatory.

Google fears a drop in direct traffic

The company states that previous adaptations to the DMA have already caused a 30% decrease in free and direct traffic to certain European booking companies. This figure comes from Google and has not been presented by the Commission as an independent measure of the regulation’s effect.

The new rules do not apply to users located outside the European Union, according to Google. The company indicates that the ranking of specialized services will continue to be determined by its algorithm, while Brussels must now assess whether the changes effectively meet the DMA’s obligations.