ACCC examines AI's influence on internet search

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is examining the impact of generative AI on internet search.

The technology's introduction is likely the only significant change in the search landscape since the ACCC’s interim Digital Platforms Report, which found Google to be the dominant search engine in Australia due to its command of the Android operating system and its payments to Apple to be the default search on the Safari browser.

According to an issues paper [pdf], little has changed: while Google’s market share on desktop devices has dipped slightly, from 89 percent to 86 percent, its command of the mobile ecosystem is nearly complete, at around 98 percent.

The regulator’s interest in generative AI and large language models (LLMs) is limited to what impact they have had, or are likely to have, on the search market, given other inquiries already in train (the “Safe and Responsible AI” consultation, the inquiry into AI in education, and two reports from the Digital Platform Regulators Forum).

AI, the ACCC notes in its issues paper, could work either way: it could reinforce Google’s existing dominance of search, or it could feasibly disrupt the general search market (even though the paper noted that early experiments like DuckDuckGo’s DuckAssist and NeevaAI have already been discontinued).

In announcing the inquiry, ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the other main market developments overseas were “new laws introduced overseas that place obligations on so-called gatekeeper search engines”.

The regulator will also look at legislation being rolled out or considered in the EU and the UK, putting an onus on search engines to promote competition.