Google testing new-look search results in EU

Google is testing a new search results display for a small group of EU users when they search for products, restaurants, flights, and hotels. The test is part of Google’s efforts to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act.

What’s happening. According to a report from Dow Jones Newswires:

• “Under the test started Monday, Google has set up new units for users to choose between results from price comparison sites such as Booking Holdings’ Booking.com and results that take them directly to supplier websites when they are searching for products, restaurants, flights or hotels.”

What Google EU search results look like. Here are screenshots showing what it looks like to search for [flight to boston from vienna] right now:

You can then filter to see only Airline options:

Or Flight sites:

And if you search for [steak dinner in vienna], you can filter down to Places:

And Places Sites:

New units. These images don’t show the new units mentioned in the report. Please contact us if you spot these new units in the wild and share screenshots. These images are meant to give our readers outside of the EU an idea of what search results look like when Google doesn’t self-preference.

What Google is saying. A Google spokesperson said:

• “To find a better balance between these sites, while meeting the goals of the DMA, we have proposed a new solution to give people a choice between intermediary comparison sites and direct suppliers like hotels.”

Why we care. The Digital Markets Act is meant to promote more competition and diversity in search results. For websites in the EU, it will be worth monitoring whether these changes result in any impact on traffic.

Dig deeper. How the Digital Markets Act is reshaping search and Google’s monopoly in Europe