Google changes search results in Europe / Real-time prices could disappear from some listings

To comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Google is changing the way search results for hotels, flights, restaurants, and other services are displayed in Europe. The changes remove useful information from certain results, such as real-time prices, and may make it more difficult to find the desired offers.

A specialized search service will be displayed at the top of the page, followed by two other platforms presented with less information. Below, a carousel featuring hotels, airlines, or restaurants will appear, but some data will be removed. The order of the results will continue to be determined by Google's algorithm.

The company claims that the new rules benefit intermediary platforms and price-comparison websites, to the detriment of local businesses. Tests conducted on millions of European users reportedly indicated dissatisfaction, including the need to repeat or rephrase searches.

Google states that previous changes imposed by European legislation reduced free traffic to European booking websites by 30%. The company was fined 460 million euros in July and risked periodic penalties of up to 5% of its global turnover if it failed to comply. Over nearly two decades, the antitrust fines imposed on Google by the EU have reached 10.38 billion euros.