Mozilla has asked the UK competition regulator to plan browser choice screens alongside its search choice screens, arguing that the current proposal asks people to pick a search engine inside a browser they never chose. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) wants Google to show UK users a search choice on Android phones and in Chrome, and it left room for AI assistants to appear on that screen.
Most people use whatever browser came on the phone, so the order of these choices matters more than it sounds.
TL;DR: The CMA’s plan would put a search choice screen on UK Android phones and in Chrome, with AI assistants possibly eligible. In an October 20, 2026 post, Mozilla says that skips a step, because people never actively picked their browser. It wants browser choice screens consulted on now and shown first. Nothing changes for US users today, but the outcome could shape how choice screens work elsewhere.
What the CMA is proposing for Android and Chrome
The CMA’s updated proposals, published September 23, 2026, would have Google show Android and Chrome users in the UK a choice of search services when they first use an Android phone or open Chrome. People would then be prompted every year to confirm their default provider.
Assistants such as ChatGPT and Perplexity could be included if they meet technical and security criteria, and search providers on the screen would need to attribute publisher content fairly. The regulator expects to make a final decision by the end of 2026.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Regulator | UK Competition and Markets Authority |
| Company covered | |
| Where it would appear | Android phones and Chrome, UK users |
| How often | At first use, then a yearly prompt |
| AI assistants | Eligible if they meet the criteria, ChatGPT and Perplexity named as examples |
| Feedback deadline | October 9, 2026 |
| Final decision | Expected by end of 2026 |
That is a search decision, and Mozilla thinks the order is backwards.
Why Mozilla wants browser choice screens first
Mozilla’s post says the proposals “solve only half the problem,” because a search screen inside a preinstalled browser leaves the earlier choice untouched. Its line is that nobody chooses the furniture before the house.
The argument has a practical side. A browser arrives with its own default search engine, so the browser decision quietly shapes the search decision that follows it.
Mozilla also points to the CMA’s new user research, which it says found participants often confused browsers with search services and were unsure what a search choice would change. In Mozilla’s reading, two separate screens designed in isolation would make that worse, so it recommends showing the browser screen first, then search, with wording that marks them as separate decisions.
Mozilla has a stake in this, but the sequencing point stands on its own logic.
What the EU suggests about choice screens
The EU has already run this experiment. Mozilla’s May 2026 report says Firefox is now picked through a Digital Markets Act (DMA) choice screen about once every ten seconds, and that people who choose it that way stay five times more often than organic downloads.
On iOS, Mozilla measured Firefox daily users in the EU as 113% higher than they would have been without the DMA, using 15 months of data before and after rollout against 43 non-EU countries. The Android effect was 12%, which Mozilla attributes to a higher starting base and a patchier rollout.
These are Firefox’s own figures, so read them as one browser maker’s evidence rather than a neutral audit. Still, they show the screens move behavior, and that is why the design details are being fought over.
What this means if you are not in the UK
If you live in the US, nothing changes on your phone, since the CMA’s plan covers UK customers only. The ripple effect is more likely to come from how Google builds the screen, and whether AI assistants earn a slot next to search engines.
It is also a prompt to check your own setup. Open your phone’s default browser setting and your browser’s default search engine setting, and see whether you picked both or inherited them. Our Chrome, Brave and Firefox comparison is a decent place to start if you want to switch.
The detail to watch before the end of 2026
The CMA says it is analyzing feedback from the consultation that closed October 9, 2026, and Mozilla’s ask is that browser choice goes out for consultation now, so both screens can launch together. If the regulator agrees, UK users could see one connected sequence instead of two separate interruptions.
The stakes keep rising because the browser is no longer only a window to the web. Mozilla’s Smart Window, which we covered in the Firefox 158 update, puts an AI assistant inside the browser itself, so whoever picks the browser picks a lot more than a logo.
