Future bets on SheerLuxe as Google squeezes digital publishers Media Future said the acquisition of SheerLuxe and a push into AI-driven products would help return the publisher to growth after weaker digital ad and ecommerce markets dragged profits lower in the first half. The media group behind Marie Claire, TechRadar and Go.Compare reported revenue of £349.1m for the six months to March 31, down from [...]
Google to teach small publishers how to use AI amid copyright row Media Google has launched an AI training programme for small publishers to teach them how to benefit from AI, as the technology continues to reshape how audiences access news. The announcement follows a similar scheme launched by the Mag Seven firm last year, which had targetted bigger players in the industry, with names like Tindle Newspapers [...]
Google partners with Opentable with AI that books your dinner Tech Google has taken a swipe at the restaurant booking market, rolling out AI in the UK that can line up your next reservation directly from search. The new feature, launched on Friday, lets users describe exactly what they want, with Google’s AI then scanning the web for real-time availability and serving up bookable options in [...]
CMA pushes back on Google’s AI overviews January 28, 2026 The UK’s competition regulator has fired an early warning shot at Google’s AI-powered search, in a move that suggests the era of unfettered scraping and summarising may be coming to an end. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Wednesday set out proposed rules that would force Google to loosen its control over how search works in the UK. [...]
The man on a mission to save the internet October 28, 2025 Search engines and publishers used to operate on a simple deal: publishers would let the likes of Google trawl their site, and in return Google would give them traffic. With the advent of AI, that deal is all but dead, leaving the internet’s old model under existential threat. Ali Lyon meets Matthew Prince, the man [...]
Google could be forced to change search in the UK October 10, 2025 Google may be forced to make changes to how its search engine operates in the UK after the competition watchdog granted it ‘strategic market status’ under the country’s new digital markets regime. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed the designation on Friday, giving it new powers to impose rules on Google’s search and advertising [...]
Google UK cuts 400 jobs as turnover nears £3bn October 3, 2025 The UK arm of Google cut almost 400 jobs during its latest financial year as its turnover neared the £3bn mark, it has been revealed. The London-headquartered division reduced its headcount from 7,422 to 7,029 in 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House show. The results also reveal that Google UK’s turnover increased in the [...]
Chatbots are growing fast – but search still rules the web July 24, 2025 While chatbots like ChatGPT are seeing explosive growth, they are still a long way from overtaking traditional search engines – and Google remains firmly control of how people find information online. A recent report found that between April 2024 and March 2025, visits to AI chatbots surged by nearly 81 per cent year on year, [...]
UK’s competition watchdog sets its sights on Google search June 24, 2025 The UK’s competition watchdog has proposed designating Google with ‘strategic market status’ after an investigation earlier this year revealed market issues. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had “heard concerns” that Google’s search advertising costs are higher “than would be expected” in a “more competitive market”. It will also look into the transparency [...]
CMA launches probe into Google search dominance under new regime January 14, 2025 Google has been placed under investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to assess whether its search and advertising services deliver fair results within the UK. In a statement today, the watchdog announced the launch of its first “strategic market status designation investigation” under a new Strategic Market Status (SMS) regime, which was rolled [...]