Google has warned that search results in Europe will get worse as the company revamps its product to avoid European Union fines under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the EU law forcing large platforms to give rival services equal treatment.

The company made the statement as it reworks how European users see search results — changes designed to satisfy the European Commission rather than to improve relevance. Google's position, plainly stated: complying with the DMA means lower-quality results for European users.

What is Google changing in Europe?

The DMA requires designated gatekeepers, including Google, to stop favoring their own services in search results. For Google Search, that means redesigning results pages so that links to competing vertical services — price comparison, travel, local business listings — get comparable placement to Google's own products.

Google has argued repeatedly that this kind of mandated equal treatment damages the user experience. The new warning doubles down on that argument: the changes required to dodge EU fines will degrade the quality of results that European searchers see.

Is this a confirmed change or negotiation tactics?

The compliance overhaul itself is confirmed — Google is actively revamping European search results to meet DMA obligations. The quality warning is Google's own characterization, not an independent finding.

Treat the two claims accordingly:

• Confirmed: Google is changing European search results to comply with the DMA and avoid fines.
• Google's assertion, not verified: that the changes will produce measurably lower-quality results. No third-party study in the source substantiates the degree of degradation.

The framing matters for SEO professionals. If Google implements DMA-driven result layouts in Europe, publishers and comparison sites in affected verticals — shopping, travel, jobs, local services — could see material shifts in click distribution, independent of any ranking algorithm change. Sites that previously lost visibility to Google's own modules may regain placements; sites benefiting from the current layout may lose them.

Why now?

The EU has shown it will fine gatekeepers that fall short of DMA compliance. Google's public warning serves two purposes at once: it documents the cost of compliance, and it builds a public record that regulators — not Google — own any drop in result quality European users experience.

That puts the European Commission in a bind. Push Google harder on self-preferencing, and Google can point to degraded results as the regulatory price. Back off, and rival services keep arguing the DMA lacks teeth.

What should search professionals watch?

Watch European result pages for layout tests — new comparison modules, expanded rival links, reduced Google-owned units — and watch traffic splits by geography. Any Europe-versus-rest-of-world divergence in click-through rates will be the clearest early signal of whether Google's quality warning plays out in practice.