An example of the search choice screen. Image: Google. In 2018, Google was ordered by the EU to change how app bundling works on Android phones as a result of the antitrust case surrounding Google Play. Phone makers, like Samsung, that want access to Google Play were required to preinstall a number of Google apps, including search, Maps, Chrome and others. Google's solution. As a result of that case, Google created the search choice screen. Search engines pay for the option to show up on the choice screen via an auction: "In each country auction, search providers will state the price that they are willing to pay each time a user selects them from the choice screen in the given country. Each country will have a minimum bid threshold. The three highest bidders that meet or exceed the bid threshold for a given country will appear in the choice screen for that country," said the Google announcement from 2019. The limitations. The screen itself is limited to four search engines (including Google) — why four? Why not an alphabetized, searchable list? And, the choice screen only rolled out to new handsets after March 2020, and is only available once during the initial phone setup phase, severely limiting its reach. If anything, the screen, as it currently exists, is a way for Google to influence, and maybe even control, the mobile search ecosystem. Thanks, I hate it. So how has that turned out? In the words of Mad Men's Pete Campbell, "Not great, Bob!" At least that's according to most Google competitors in the EU: - DuckDuckGo: Not a fan.
- Yandex: Not a fan.
- Ecosia: Not a fan.
- Info.com: A fan!
- Bing: No comment.
Why? The auction is biased against search engines that bring in less revenue by design, which also happen to be the niche search engines that are chipping away slowly at Google's dominance. Search engines that can afford to pay are likely the ones that run more ads, which only makes Google look like a better user experience by comparison. And, larger search engines that win are ending up paying for users that might've selected them as a default for free. Read more here. |