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A fine about your visibility, not about Google's balance sheet
Google's DMA fine of 23 July 2026 totals EUR 890 million. The European Commission found that, under the Digital Markets Act, Google favoured its own services in search results for shopping, hotels, transport and sports, and that it stopped app developers on Google Play from freely steering customers to offers outside the store. Google got 60 days to comply.
For a European business the fine itself is not the news. What matters is what changed in the results since: on 8 September Google introduced new units in Europe for hotels, flights and restaurants, with comparison sites at the top. If you run a hotel, a holiday rental or an online shop, you will see it in your traffic.
Four decisions in one week
The fine did not come alone. A week earlier the Commission imposed two binding measures on Google that reach beyond the search results.
| Decision | What Google must do | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Search, 23 July | Show other companies' shopping, hotel, transport and sports services as fairly as its own | EUR 460 million |
| Google Play, 23 July | Let developers point customers to cheaper offers outside the store | EUR 430 million |
| Search data, 16 July | From January 2027 share anonymised search data with other search engines, AI chatbots with search included | No fine, binding |
| Android, 16 July | Give other AI assistants the same access as Gemini, such as a voice command | No fine, binding |
On the AI features in Search, AI Overviews and AI Mode, the Commission has not decided yet: it took note of Google's proposals and continues the dialogue. If Google does not comply, the Commission can impose periodic penalty payments of up to 5 percent of its average daily worldwide turnover, per day. On 29 September Google appealed the decisions of 16 July to the EU General Court, arguing that sharing search data harms user privacy.
Hotel, guesthouse or holiday rental
Direct, act now
Hotel units no longer show live prices and give comparison sites more room.
Strengthen direct booking on your own site and keep your profile complete.
Comparison site or booking platform
Direct, act now
Google must show comparison services as prominently as its own.
Check whether you hold the new places at the top of the results.
Online shop
Noticeable
Product units and shopping ads are being reviewed as well.
A correct product feed and strong product pages, in every form of the results.
App developer on Google Play
Noticeable
Google must let your customers buy freely outside the Play Store.
Rework your prices and your channels outside the store.
Search engine or AI chatbot with search
Indirect
From January 2027 Google must share anonymised search data.
Follow Google's appeal at the General Court.
Local service business
Little effect
Hairdressers, builders and accountants are not in the disputed units.
Your business profile and your own site remain what counts.
Our reading of the decisions per type of business. How AI Overviews and AI Mode fall under them is still under discussion between the Commission and Google.
What European results look like since September
On 8 September Google rolled out a new layout in Europe for searches about hotels, flights and restaurants. At the top now sits one specialised search service, such as a comparison site or booking platform, with two others below it in less detail. Below that comes a carousel of hotels, airlines or restaurants, without the real-time prices that used to appear. Google's algorithm sets the order; outside the EU nothing changes.
Google is not pleased. It calls this the largest reduction in quality in the history of its search engine and says earlier DMA changes cut free direct booking traffic to European hotels and airlines by up to 30 percent. That is Google's claim, not an independent measurement, but the direction is clear: a business that appears only with a link, a phone number and an address loses room to comparison sites.
Take a holiday rental in Tuscany that got 300 clicks a month from Google to its own booking page. If the 30 percent drop applies there too, 210 remain; the other 90 guests arrive through a platform, with commission. Check in Google Search Console how your own clicks moved since September, against the same weeks last year.
Hotels and holiday rentals: direct booking matters more
This is where the decision bites hardest. Hotel units must treat comparison sites fairly, which gives them more room, not your own site. Your best insurance is a site of your own where guests book directly and easily: a direct booking website with a booking system, the same price as on the platforms and a confirmation without detours. Your Google Business Profile remains the unit a searcher sees on the map; if it does not show, read why your business profile is not showing.
For online shops the decision concerns how Google shows its shopping units against comparison sites. Google already tested changes there, shopping ads included, and the Commission is still assessing them. The basics stay: good product pages, an accurate product feed and ecommerce SEO. For a hairdresser, builder or accountant little changes: local results are not among the units in dispute.
Why AI answers are part of this too
Someone searching for a hotel in Lisbon or a bike under EUR 1,000 increasingly sees an AI Overview or an AI Mode answer first. If those answers showed the same preference for Google's own services, the problem would only move. That is why talks on AI Overviews and AI Mode run separately. The search data decision touches this too: from January 2027 AI chatbots with a search function get access to anonymised Google search data, which could strengthen Gemini's competitors. How to appear in AI answers yourself is in how to get found in ChatGPT and in SEO vs GEO.
Under pressure from the Commission Google had already adjusted a spam rule: since 30 August 2026 manual actions for site reputation abuse no longer affect searchers in the EEA. More on that in the September 2026 spam update.
What your visibility in Google depends on, DMA or not
- Your business profileComplete, with photos, opening hours and reviews. That is the unit a local searcher sees first.
- Your own siteFast, with a page per service or property, and a price that matches what you show elsewhere.
- Direct bookingA calendar and an enquiry on your own site, so a visitor does not have to go back to a platform.
- Reviews you ask forAt the right moment, with a direct link from a review link generator.
What business owners ask us about the DMA
Will my hotel or holiday rental rank higher on Google now?
Not by itself. The DMA requires Google to treat competing services fairly, and those are mainly comparison sites and booking platforms. Your own site still has to be the best page for the search.
Do I need to do anything for the DMA myself?
No, the obligation is Google's. What you can do: make your own site and business profile strong enough to compete in every form of the results, and track your clicks since September.
Has Google appealed the fine?
It appealed the two decisions of 16 July on search data and Android, on 29 September. An appeal does not suspend the duty to comply.
Does this cover AI Overviews and AI Mode?
The Commission took note of Google's proposals and continues the talks. There is no decision on the AI features yet.