Appendix H: default positions in search

This appendix draws on submissions and internal documents from market participants, as well as other evidence.

In this appendix, we review the default positions held by Google and Bing, the ways in which these default positions are acquired, and the implications of
these default arrangements for competition in general search and for consumers.
This appendix draws on submissions, internal documents from market participants, and other evidence.

Consumers can access search engines though various ‘access points’ on their mobile and desktop devices. These access points include web browsers
and search widgets, voice assistants and other search features.
At a more granular level, consumers may access a search engine in several ways within a particular access point. For example, users of web-browsers can enter search queries via the address bar at the top of the browser. In addition, they can enter queries via the search engine web
page. Users typically have the choice of typing in these queries, or dictating them to a voice assistant.

Download PDF