Forward

This is the AI Competition Moment. Nearly three years after the launch of ChatGPT, we are witnessing a surge in new AI models, applications, and hardware from both startups and major tech companies. Like electricity or the internet, AI is being rapidly adopted, even if its full use cases are still emerging.

This moment challenges us to rethink the economics of digital sectors like search, and even traditional ones like legal services. Governments are racing to shape AI strategies, while competition authorities are closely tracking market shifts and regulatory responses.

I will be in Paris the week of 16 June. If you're attending the OECD meetings or are in the area, let’s connect! (I might also come to Brussels).

My Work

Analysis: How Artificial Intelligence is Driving Competition in General Search Engines

AI drives competition in general search engines. Premature regulation of AI features risks disrupting this competitive process. Competition authorities should intervene only when justified, ensuring that actions are evidence-based, proportionate and necessary. The analysis

Report: Europe’s Progress in the Digital Single Market: A Proposal for Consistency

European digital regulations shape the Digital Single Market, raising complex issues of regulatory consistency. This report assesses and proposes recommendations to ensure coherence across countries, regulatory regimes, and the rule-making process. The report

Public Consultation on the Review of the European Digital Markets Act (extended deadline)

We seek stakeholder feedback for a report on the review of the DMA and an international digital competition conference in Cannes, France. The public consultation

Training: School on Digital and Competition Policies

The school provides insightful lessons on the fast-changing regulatory and market developments related to digital and AI markets. Join the many law firms and competition authorities worldwide that have already taken part—be the next to stay ahead of the curve! The school

Consultations: UK Digital Markets Act (DMCCCA) Consultations

I assist potential designated firms, interested stakeholders, and their legal counsels in responding to public consultations under the UK digital competition regime. Please contact me for in-depth research and strategic solutions to ensure coherence with digital competition regimes globally. Contact 

Consultations: Struggling with Europe's Digital Regulations? 

I am here to help companies, law firms, and authorities overcome the complexities of cross-regulatory issues in Europe through strategic insights and policy advice to ensure they consistently navigate digital regulations. Contact

Conference: The European Union’s Place in the New World Order

I will be speaking on 'Competition and Competitiveness in the AI Sector' at the conference The European Union’s Place in the New World Order, taking place in Trieste on 3 June. Registration is open. Registration

Research projects: Let’s work together

News

Generative AI

AI in Search

Google is fully integrating AI into Search to support more in-depth and personalised research, facilitate shopping, and even complete tasks on users’ behalf. It also unveiled Android XR glasses equipped with AI features. Could glasses become the next smartphone? Google CEO Sundar Pichai believes that “AI is going to be bigger than the internet,” a view that I think is accurate.

At the same time, a new clash with publishers is emerging. The News Media Alliance accuses Google’s AI mode of “theft”. While news publishers fear AI, Google has innovated beyond the traditional search format of blue links for several years. Google announcement. Google XR glasses. Google CEO interview. The News Media Alliance

In Europe, AI-enhanced search is finally arriving, with Google’s AI Overviews launching in countries such as Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, and Estonia. Google AI Overviews

Agenticising the Web

The rise of agents, AI tools that act on users’ behalf, is being heralded as the next “smartphone moment.” These agents will soon be capable of executing a wide range of personalised tasks. To enable this, agents must interact not just with websites, but with other agents. Microsoft has proposed an open standard to support this emerging ecosystem. How will these agents reshape the economics of the web? Get in touch to study this research question together! Microsoft

For instance, legal professionals can now build AI-powered legal agents with minimal coding, agents that draft documents in the user's tone and context within seconds. This development could profoundly disrupt law firms' business models. Microsoft

AI Hardware

OpenAI has acquired the hardware startup “IO” for $6.4 billion to develop a new AI device, one of the first big AI hardware mergers. When I met Sam Altman in Brussels three years ago, I told him: “Great software needs great hardware.” Apple understood this well. Now, OpenAI has partnered with Sir Jony Ive, Apple’s former design chief. A future resembling the film Her might be closer than we think. OpenAI

AI and Cloud

Most AI models operate via cloud infrastructure. In a new paper, the OECD, citing my research, argues that “the intersection of cloud and AI technologies will increasingly attract the attention of competition authorities.” I agree and will continue to monitor both market dynamics and regulatory responses closely. My work. The OECD

Digital Competition Regimes

First DMA Non-Compliance Decisions

The Commission has issued its first non-compliance findings under the DMA, targeting Apple (anti-steering) and Meta (pay-or-consent). It also terminated the Apple user choice case, issued preliminary rulings on Apple’s new business terms, and removed Meta Marketplace from the gatekeeper list. Currently, only the Apple anti-steering decision is public. Key takeaways from this decision include: 1) Compliance must be effective in practice (para. 72); 2) The DMA is not self-executing (para. 78); 3) The provision for guidance (para. 193); 4) Economic justifications are not required (para. 227); and 5) Provisions on fines (para. 300). The DMA Tracker. The Apple anti-steering decision

I remain available for a deeper analysis of these developments.

DMA Dialogue

The second annual DMA report emphasises that compliance is driven by continuous dialogue with stakeholders. However, this dialogue remains unstructured, prompting some stakeholders to refer to it as a “black box,” as reported in CERRE’s recent report. Annual report. CERRE report

DMA Workshops

The Commission continues to host public workshops with gatekeepers and stakeholders to review compliance reports under the second DMA cycle. DMA workshops

Competition

Google Abandons Privacy Sandbox

After years of development and stakeholder engagement, Google has decided not to roll out its Privacy Sandbox, which aimed to replace third-party cookies in Chrome. The decision underscores the limits of participatory design processes. Google

New EU Merger Guidelines

The Commission has launched a public consultation to update its merger guidelines, focusing on resilience, competitiveness, sustainability, and digital challenges. While academics have long studied these topics, they are now moving to the forefront of policymaking. I am available to support stakeholders with evidence-based input on issues such as killer acquisitions, potential competition, and data protection in merger control. The consultation

CMA Independence

Amid concerns over political interference, the UK government has reaffirmed the CMA's independence. The UK government

Digital Policy

Data Union Strategy

The Commission has launched a consultation on its Data Union Strategy. Though it remains vague, the strategy aims to establish a truly single market for data. I can support this process with targeted research and recommendations, especially on how the Commission can enable data access and reuse through consistent digital regulation. The consultation

Digital Omnibus

In its new strategy for “a simpler market,” the Commission announced plans for a Digital Omnibus to streamline digital legislation. My recent report, Europe’s Progress in the Digital Single Market: A Proposal for Consistency, offers actionable insights on how to achieve this goal. The strategy