The fines would be processed under requirements for Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs) within the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), and levy up to one percent of Microsoft's global annual turnover against the company.

The European Commission on Friday said it had given Microsoft until May 27 to provide information on risks stemming from generative AI features in search engine Bing.

Microsoft has poured billions into OpenAI, a major player in AI, especially since the ChatGPT chatbot burst onto the scene in late 2022. The commission, the EU's powerful competition regulator, is examining Microsoft's relationship with OpenAI to see if it is a disguised merger.