Google said it will change its Search services in the EU in an effort to sidestep some of the €890 million (~$1 billion) in fines levied by the European Commission earlier this summer. The EU charged a fine of €460 million (~$534 million) on claims that Google had abused its dominance in search to prioritize the brand's other services when displaying query results. That sanction was the latest salvo between the EU government and a US tech company for infringing on its Digital Markets Act.

According to Reuters, Google's revised search results "will highlight one specialized search engine at the top of the page, followed by two others with fewer details. A carousel of hotels, airlines and restaurants, for example, will sit below them with key features such as real-time prices stripped out." Those specialized engines include sites like Expedia or Hotels.com, also known as vertical search services, so European users may soon see those aggregators and comparison sites prioritized more highly than individual businesses' websites.

The EC had given Google 60 days to comply with its rules, but the company has not specified an exact timeline. Google leadership has framed DMA compliance as forcing it to deliver lower quality search results. "These changes degrade the user experience for Europeans — boosting online intermediaries at the expense of local businesses, and removing helpful features people rely on every day," Nick Fox, senior vice-president of knowledge and information at Google, said in a statement.

Reuters added that according to Google, its past search changes for DMA compliance were tied to a 30 percent decrease "in free, direct booking traffic to European businesses," and the company suggested there would be another drop with the new updates.