Google sets terms for rivals to license its European search data from September 17

Google has laid out the rules of its European Search Dataset Licensing Program, the mechanism through which it will hand rival search engines anonymized data from Google Search in the European Economic Area. Licensing agreements can be signed from September 17, 2026, and the first data samples will be available from November 16. The program implements measures the European Commission adopted on July 16 under the Digital Markets Act, which requires Google, as a designated gatekeeper, to share ranking, query, click and view data on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.

Not everyone can apply. A licensee must operate an online search engine serving EEA users, average at least 50,000 monthly users in the region over the past year, and either have offered search in the EU for two consecutive years or be a newer company that has raised at least 50 million euros. Firms controlled by non-EEA state actors or subject to EU sanctions are excluded. Crucially, the DMA definition of a search engine now covers AI chatbots, so services such as ChatGPT, designated a very large online search engine by the Commission this week, can in principle qualify.

Google is offering three tiers: a free sample of 1,000 rows, a paid synthetic dataset of up to 10 million queries, and a paid 5% cut of the full dataset. Fees are capped at the incremental cost of providing the data plus a specified rate of return. Before touching the 5% sample or the full set, applicants must pass an independent assurance audit, and ongoing recipients face continuous monitoring.

Why it matters

Search data is the moat that has kept challengers from matching Google’s relevance for two decades. Bing, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Qwant and the new generation of AI answer engines have all argued that without click and query signals at scale they cannot close the quality gap. The DMA now forces the issue, and Google’s documentation is the first concrete look at what compliance will cost rivals. For SEO professionals the immediate effect is indirect: better competing engines mean a slightly less Google-centric European search market, and AI assistants trained on real query and click patterns will get better at surfacing the same pages that rank well today.

What’s next

Google says it will respond to expressions of interest within seven calendar days, and Search Engine Roundtable notes the company has been sharing some search datasets with qualifying recipients since March 2024. The open questions are how many companies clear the audit bar and whether the Commission judges the fee structure and sample sizes sufficient. DuckDuckGo has already asked Brussels to investigate Google’s earlier DMA compliance, so expect the first licensees, and the first complaints, before the end of the year.