Google ordered to let publishers in UK opt out of AI search summaries

The UK regulator calls the requirement a world first as pressure grows over AI's impact on web traffic

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What just happened? The UK's competition regulator has ordered Google to give publishers more control over whether their content is used as part of AI Overviews in search results. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the move would "put publishers, like news organizations, in a stronger position to negotiate content deals with Google."

The CMA says Google must introduce tools that let publishers opt out of having their content used to power AI features in Search, including AI Overviews.

The watchdog called it a "world-first" requirement and said it follows Google's designation as having strategic market status in general search services, which gives the CMA the power to impose targeted conduct rules.

The change means publishers will be able to stop their material from appearing in AI search responses without disappearing from Google's normal search results. Google will also have to let publishers opt out of their content being used for the fine-tuning of AI models, while ensuring publishers' material is attributed through clear links.

The CMA says the rules should put publishers in a stronger position to negotiate content deals with Google. The agency will monitor compliance and says Google has nine months to implement the changes, though some controls should arrive sooner. Google must also publish compliance reports every six months during the first year.

Google says it is testing new controls with a subset of UK website owners through Search Console. Sites will be able to decide whether their content appears in and helps ground responses in AI Overviews, AI Mode, and AI Overviews in Discover. Opting out would mean those sites no longer receive traffic or impressions from Google's generative AI search features, but Google says the choice will not affect traditional search rankings.

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The company is also rolling out new Search Console insights showing when pages appear in generative AI search features and in which countries. Google says AI Overviews has more than 2.5 billion monthly active users, while AI Mode has passed one billion monthly users.

The decision comes amid anger from publishers who say Google's AI summaries are taking their work, answering users' questions directly, and sending less traffic back to the original source.

A Pew Research Center report in 2025 found that users were almost 50% less likely to click links when AI Overviews appeared, challenging Google's long-held claim that its summaries don't take traffic from websites.

Whether the CMA's requirement is enough remains to be seen. Opt-out controls are welcome, but publishers are still likely to wonder why the default position was to use their work unless they specified otherwise.