Google has announced further changes to the functioning of its search results in Europe to comply with the requirements of the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) and to mitigate allegations of market distortion.

The company has revised its search results into categories such as flights, hotels, and shopping to better account for comparison portals. These changes benefit large travel platforms but have affected smaller providers such as airlines, hotels, and retailers, some of which report losses of up to 30% in direct booking clicks.

To counteract this imbalance, Google proposes to make it easier for users to choose between results leading to comparison portals and those directing them straight to provider sites. Additionally, new formats are to display more information like prices and images directly in the results, and special advertising units are to make comparison pages more visible.

As part of the DMA, which aims to limit the dominance of large technology companies in the EU, these changes are part of broader adjustments intended to prevent Google from favoring its own services over competitors.

Oliver Bethell, Google's legal director, emphasized in a statement: "We believe that the latest proposal is the right way to master the difficult trade-offs of the DMA.

In Germany, Belgium, and Estonia, Google plans to temporarily remove a map feature to hotels from the search results to evaluate the impact on user experience and website traffic. "This step is difficult for us because the removal of helpful features benefits neither consumers nor businesses in Europe," said Bethell.

With the proposed changes, Google is trying to strike a balance between regulatory requirements, user interests, and the needs of business partners.