UK regulators have ordered Google to let publishers control how their content appears in AI search features. Google will test new tools for website owners. The move follows publisher complaints about traffic loss and lack of transparency.
UK regulators have directed Google to give publishers more control over how their content is used in AI-generated search results, a move with direct implications for traffic, monetization, and editorial strategy across digital publishing.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that Google must provide website owners with new tools to manage how their links and content appear in generative AI features, including the ability to opt out of having their material used for AI answers without losing visibility in standard search results. Until now, publishers could only remove their content from AI summaries by also removing it from Google’s main search index, a step that risked cutting off a major source of audience traffic in the UK.
The CMA’s ruling addresses publisher concerns about transparency, attribution, and declining referral traffic linked to the rise of AI-written summaries and zero-click searches. The regulator said Google must offer clear controls, publish user-friendly information about how publisher content is used in AI, provide detailed engagement metrics, and ensure accurate attribution with accessible links in AI-generated results. Publishers will also be able to prevent their content from being used to fine-tune Google’s AI models, strengthening their negotiating position for content deals.
Google responded by announcing the rollout of a new toggle in Search Console, allowing website owners to decide if their sites appear in generative AI search features such as AI Overviews and AI Mode. Sites that opt out will not receive traffic from these features, but their ranking in standard search will not be affected. Google also said it is increasing the number of inline links in AI responses, adding website previews, and introducing new subscription labels and preferred sources to give users more choice over which sites are highlighted.
Additionally, Google is launching new insights in Search Console to help publishers track impressions and see which pages appear in AI responses, with initial testing in the UK before a global rollout. The company said it will continue to work with publishers to refine these metrics and controls.
Industry reaction has been mixed. The News Media Association called the CMA’s requirements a significant step toward a fairer digital economy, while News Media Canada’s CEO said the UK action sets an example for other countries. However, some digital publishing executives criticized the new controls as insufficient, noting that the opt-out framework and limited reporting do not provide the transparency or real choice publishers need to assess the value of AI Overviews.
Google has nine months to comply with the CMA’s order and must submit compliance reports every six months. Failure to meet the requirements could result in fines of up to 10% of Google’s annual turnover under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act. The CMA is also investigating Apple and Microsoft’s market practices. According to Press Gazette, Google accounted for approximately £21.5 billion of the UK’s £46.7 billion ad spend last year, compared to £1.6 billion spent with all UK newspaper and magazine publishers combined.
