UK CMA Orders Google to Let Publishers Opt Out of AI Search Features

The UK Competition and Markets Authority required Google to let news companies and other online publishers opt out of its new AI-powered search features. The agency described the opt-out requirement as a “world first” and gave the company nine months to roll out the changes under conduct requirements.

” Publishers will now have tools to prevent their content from powering features such as AI Overviews and to opt out of allowing their material to be used for “fine-tuning” of AI models.

Google must also ensure that publisher content is properly attributed with clear links in artificial intelligence-generated search results. ” She added that features like AI Overviews are rapidly reshaping online search and that the measures will help tens of millions of UK search users better understand and trust the information presented to them.

Cardell said the CMA will continue to use the unique flexibility of the UK regime to monitor and address future concerns as they arise and will announce further action in relation to Google’s search business in the coming weeks.

The agency wants to see Google comply with key parts of the new requirements well before the nine-month deadline. Google said it was actively listening to feedback from publishers and creators and engaging with regulators. ” She said website owners can decide if they want their site to appear in and help ground responses in the company’s generative AI Search features.

Google stated it had already increased the number of links within AI-generated search responses and added website previews to encourage people to click through. The company is also rolling out new insights for website owners about how their pages appear in AI search features, including details on page impressions and which pages appear in AI responses and where globally.

These insights will be piloted with some UK website owners initially before being expanded worldwide.

Many publishers have complained over a sharp decline in website traffic since Google launched AI-generated summaries at the top of search results. ” He called the conduct requirements a significant step towards levelling the playing field.