Google said that it is exploring ways to allow sites to opt out of search generative AI features.
The UK’s markets watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has proposed measures to allow content publishers to opt out of Google’s AI Overviews. Plus, if the proposal goes ahead, Google will also be required to ensure publisher content is properly attributed in its AI results.
Google rolled out its now widespread AI-generated summary function in 2024, expanding it to the UK months later in August of that year.
The tool has come under fire multiple times in the few short years since its launch, with Google facing lawsuits from Penske, the parent company behind Rolling Stone and Variety, and US edtech Chegg, for allegedly redirecting traffic from their websites and materially affecting their revenue.
Google denied the allegations made by Penske, with spokesperson José Castañeda saying at the time that “Google sends billions of clicks to sites across the web [every day]”, adding “AI Overviews send traffic to a greater diversity of sites”.
According to the CMA, Google Search accounts for more than 90pc of all general search queries in the UK, with more than 200,000 firms in the country having collectively spent more than £10bn on Google’s search advertising last year.
Yesterday’s (28 January) CMA proposal comes after Google was given the ‘strategic market status’ designation in the country in October 2025. This designation applies to Google’s app distribution, browser and browser engines, and allows the CMA to introduce targeted rules to ensure the company complies with conduct requirements around fair competition and transparency.
The Guardian reports that media organisations have experienced a drop in click-through traffic to their websites after Google started posting AI summaries at the top of the search results. It also finds that sites have been unable to opt out of their content being used by AI Overviews without also withdrawing from traditional search.
With this new proposal, the CMA wants to ensure that publishers, including news and other content producers, get a “fairer deal” over how their content is used in Google’s AI features. This includes being able to opt out of their content being used to power AI Overviews or to train AI models outside of Google Search.
It also wants users to be able to easily switch search services by making default choice screens – where browsers ask users to pick their default search engines – a legal requirement on Android mobiles and the Chrome browser.
In addition, it wants Google to make it easier for individual users and businesses to make use of its search data, with an effective process for raising and investigating issues, while also requiring the company to demonstrate that it ranks search results – including AI Overviews and AI Mode – “fairly”.
The CMA is seeking feedback on its proposals. A final decision will be made on the matter after the consultation closes on 25 February.
On the back of the announcement, Google has said that it is exploring updates to allow sites to specifically opt of search generative AI features. “Our goal is to protect the helpfulness of Search for people who want information quickly, while also giving websites the right tools to manage their content,” the company said in a blogpost yesterday.
“Today is an important milestone as we consult on the first conduct requirements under the digital markets competition regime in the UK,” said Sarah Cardell, the chief executive of the CMA.
“These targeted and proportionate actions would give UK businesses and consumers more choice and control over how they interact with Google’s search services – as well as unlocking greater opportunities for innovation across the UK tech sector and broader economy.
“They would also provide a fairer deal for content publishers, particularly news organisations, over how their content is used in Google’s AI Overviews.”
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