The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ordered major changes to Google’s search operations, requiring the company to give publishers the ability to opt out of its AI-generated search features, including AI Overviews and AI Mode, without losing visibility in traditional search results. The decision is part of a formal ‘conduct requirement’ imposed after the regulator designated Google as holding ‘strategic market status’ in general search services under the UK’s new digital markets regime. The CMA estimates that Google processes more than 90% of all search queries in the UK, a level of dominance that gave it the legal basis for tighter regulatory control.
At the centre of the ruling is a structural change in how AI search summaries interact with publisher content. The Sundar Pichai-led firm will now be required to separate participation in AI-generated answers from participation in normal search indexing. This means publishers can allow their pages to appear in standard search rankings while explicitly refusing their content from being used in generative AI outputs. Previously, this was not possible in a clean way, as blocking AI use often risked reducing visibility across search more broadly, effectively forcing publishers into an ‘all or nothing’ trade-off.
The CMA’s conduct requirement also forces Google to introduce transparency and reporting obligations around its AI systems. The company must provide publishers with clearer explanations of how their content is used inside generative AI responses, along with more detailed performance metrics showing how users interact with content in AI-driven search features. Additionally, Google is required to take reasonable steps to ensure proper attribution, meaning clearer linking and identification of sources inside AI-generated answers.
A major concern driving the decision is the impact of AI Overviews on web traffic. Multiple regulatory discussions and industry submissions highlighted that AI-generated summaries reduce the need for users to click through to original websites. This shift threatens the long-standing economic model of the web, where publishers rely on search traffic for advertising revenue, subscriptions, and audience growth.
The CMA has framed the intervention as necessary to restore bargaining power to publishers in a market where Google’s dominance in search creates a ‘gatekeeper’ effect. Because Google controls the primary gateway to online information, publishers argue they had limited leverage in deciding how their content is used in AI systems.
Meanwhile, Google has said it is complying with the new requirements and is already testing tools that allow website owners to manage how their content appears in AI-enhanced search features. The company maintains that AI Overviews still include links to sources and help users discover relevant information more efficiently, while also stating that traditional search rankings will remain unaffected even if publishers opt out of AI features.
However, the CMA has stressed that compliance will be actively monitored and further action may follow if the measures do not produce sufficient competition or transparency.
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Ashutosh is a Senior Writer at The Tech Portal, largely reporting on new tech, and intersection of technology and business. Ashutosh’s career spans across nearly a decade of technology writing across multiple platforms and languages.
