UK forces Google to let publishers opt out of AI Search

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has imposed legal guardrails on Google's AI search features, forcing the tech giant to offer publishers a way to opt out of being aggregated into generative AI results. Google announced compliance on Wednesday, introducing a toggle in Search Console that lets website owners block their content from appearing in AI Overviews, AI Mode, and AI Overviews in Discover. The opt-out will initially be tested with a subset of UK publishers before rolling out globally. This move responds to the CMA's January demand that Google give publishers choice over content use in AI features, following the regulator's designation of Google as having 'strategic market status' last October.

Alongside the opt-out toggle, Google is now required to ensure proper attribution in AI responses with clear links. The company noted it has already increased inline links and added website previews to drive click-throughs. Importantly, opting out of AI search features will not affect a site's traditional Google search ranking. To persuade publishers to stay opted in, Google will provide new Search Console metrics showing impressions, page appearances in AI responses, and country-level data, with more metrics promised over time. The CMA calls this a 'world first' that puts publishers—especially news organizations—in a stronger position to negotiate content deals with Google for AI use.