UK forces Google to let publishers opt out of AI overviews

MANCHESTER, England (CN) — Britain's competition watchdog on Wednesday ordered Google to give publishers and content creators greater control over how their material is used in the company's generative artificial intelligence products, including the AI-generated summaries that increasingly appear at the top of search results.

The Competition and Markets Authority said Google must allow publishers to withhold their content from being used in AI systems while remaining searchable through traditional Google search.

On the same day, Google announced it was testing tools in the U.K. that would let website owners remove their sites from AI search features.

The decision marks one of the most significant regulatory interventions in the growing dispute between technology companies and publishers over the use of online content to power generative AI systems.

For nearly three decades, publishers have relied on Google search traffic to reach readers and customers.

But many websites say visits have fallen sharply since Google began displaying AI-generated answers that summarize information directly on the search page, reducing the need for users to click through to source websites.

The U.K. competition watchdog said its requirements follow Google's designation as having "strategic market status" in general search services in October 2025.

In the U.K., firms with that designation can face legally binding conduct requirements aimed at preventing anti-competitive behavior.

Google controls more than 90% of the U.K. online search market, according to the regulator.

Currently, the requirements only apply to Google as it is the only search engine with strategic market status.

The watchdog said publishers currently face three main problems: Too little choice over how Google uses their content in generative AI systems, too little information about that use, and insufficient attribution when content appears in AI-generated responses.

To address those concerns, the CMA ordered Google to provide publishers with controls allowing them to stop their content from being used for AI training. The controls must apply both within Google's search products and in other generative AI services.

The regulator also ordered Google to provide clearer information about how publisher content is used and to supply detailed metrics showing user engagement with content that appears in AI-generated search features.

In addition, Google must take reasonable steps to ensure content used in AI responses is clearly attributed and that users can easily access the original source material.

The watchdog said it expects the measures to strengthen publishers' bargaining positions.

If publishers withhold content from Google's AI products without disappearing from search results altogether, they may gain leverage to negotiate licensing agreements and payment arrangements for content used by AI systems.

The regulator said it will monitor the effectiveness of the rules, including whether they improve publishers' negotiating power and how the rise of more autonomous, agentic AI systems affects the market.

Google, meanwhile, said Wednesday it was beginning a U.K. trial of a new Search Console setting allowing website owners to decide whether their content can appear in and help generate responses in AI search products.

"We're also actively listening to feedback from publishers and creators, and engaging with regulators like the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority to ensure website owners have the right tools as user preferences evolve," the company said in a statement.

Google said website owners using the new control will be able to decide whether their sites appear in generative AI search features including AI Overviews, AI Mode and AI Overviews in Discover. Websites that opt out will no longer receive traffic or impressions from those AI features, though the setting will not affect rankings in traditional search results.

The company said AI Overviews now has more than 2.5 billion monthly active users worldwide, while AI Mode has surpassed 1 billion monthly users.

The U.K. trial is expected to be rolled out globally after testing.

The U.K. competition authority first proposed the publisher protections in January. During the consultation process, Google informed the regulator it was developing more targeted controls for AI search products, prompting discussions between the company, publishers and the watchdog before Wednesday's final decision.

The ruling places Britain among the first countries to require a dominant search engine to give publishers granular control over participation in AI-generated search results while preserving their presence in traditional search listings.

Courthouse News reporter James Francis Whitehead is based in England.