source: techcrunch ai: publishers will be able to opt out of ai search, thanks to new regulation
level: business
google announced it will comply with uk regulations by offering publishers a way to opt out of having their content appear in generative ai search features. a new toggle in google search console will let website owners exclude their sites from ai overviews, ai mode, and ai overviews in discover. the opt-out will first be tested with a subset of uk publishers before a global rollout.
the uk's competition and markets authority called this a world first, saying it puts publishers in a stronger position to negotiate content deals with google. the regulator had designated google with strategic market status in october and in january pushed for publisher choice over content use in ai search and model training. google also must ensure proper attribution with clear links in ai features, which it says it is addressing by increasing inline links and website previews.
google noted that opting out will not affect traditional search rankings and will introduce new metrics in search console to show publishers how their pages appear in ai responses. these impression metrics aim to inform publishers about potential traffic from ai features. the company highlighted that ai overviews now have over 2.5 billion monthly active users and ai mode has surpassed one billion.
why it matters: this regulation sets a precedent for publisher control over ai-generated search results, potentially reshaping content licensing and traffic dynamics for data-driven businesses.
source: techcrunch ai: publishers will be able to opt out of ai search, thanks to new regulation