The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has kicked off an inquiry into the state of competition in general internet search services in Australia, as part of its five-year digital platform services inquiry.

The ACCC has invited feedback from consumers, businesses, and industry participants about developments in general search services, as it considers the impact of overseas reforms, technological developments, and trends in search quality. It comes after the ACCC previously found that Google's search engine being pre-installed as a default search service on devices contributed to its dominance in Australia.

In the ACCC's September 2022 report, recommendations were made for new laws aimed at protecting and increasing competition in digital platform services. The new report will also examine legislative reforms in the European Union, United Kingdom, and other jurisdictions that place obligations on search engines to promote competition.

In the fifth report of the Digital Platforms Services Inquiry, the ACCC made recommendations to bolster competition in the digital economy, level the playing field between big tech companies and Australian businesses, and reduce prices for consumers.

"Significant changes have occurred since the ACCC last examined search services in 2021. We've seen new laws introduced overseas that place obligations on so-called gatekeeper search engines and the emergence of new technologies, like generative AI, that have changed the way consumers search for information online and may be impacting the quality of the service they are receiving," said ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb. "The ACCC wants to understand the impact of these developments on general search services and ultimately, how they affect competition and consumers."

The ACCC's consideration of generative AI will be limited to general search services and will not examine issues relating to generative AI more broadly.

"We are eager to hear from businesses and consumers about their experiences with general search services to better understand how regulatory and industry developments are affecting the level of competition and consumers in the market for general search services," saidCass-Gottlieb.