UK regulation forces Google to let publishers opt out of AI Search aggregation

The U.K. has imposed legal guardrails on Google artificial intelligence search features. On Wednesday Google announced compliance with regulatory requirements that mandate an opt-out option for publishers whose content would otherwise be aggregated into AI search. Publishers will access the option through a new toggle in Google Search Console. Once opted out a publisher site will not appear in generative AI search features including AI Overviews, AI Mode, and AI Overviews in Discover. Google noted that AI Overviews now have over 2.5 billion monthly active users and that AI Mode has surpassed one billion monthly users. The company will initially test the option with a subset of U.K. publishers before a global rollout. The Competition and Markets Authority described the measure as a "world first." It said the change strengthens the position of publishers including news organizations when negotiating content deals with Google for use in AI features. The authority had designated Google as having strategic market status last October. In January the authority required Google to give publishers a choice on whether their content is aggregated into AI search features or used to train stand-alone AI models. Google must also ensure proper attribution of publisher content in AI features using clear links. The company has increased the number of inline links in its AI responses and added website previews. A decision by a publisher to opt out of generative AI search features will not serve as a ranking signal in traditional Google search. Google will present new metrics in Search Console including impression data and information on which pages appear in AI responses along with the countries involved. Additional metrics will be added over time.