Google Opens AI Overviews Opt-Out for Publishers

Google has introduced a new control inside Google Search Console that allows website owners to decide how their content is used across its AI-powered search experiences. The company has begun testing a Search Console toggle that lets publishers exclude their sites from AI Overviews, AI Mode and AI Overviews in Discover without losing visibility in standard Search results.

The control is rolling out to a subset of UK website owners ahead of a global launch. The announcement arrived the same morning the UK Competition and Markets Authority issued its first conduct requirement on Google's search business. Mrinalini Loew, general manager of Google Search Ecosystem, framed the change as a response to publisher feedback and direct regulatory engagement in Google's blog post. According to her, the update aims to give publishers a direct way to manage whether their pages are included in AI-generated summaries and responses shown in Search.

Publishers Concerns and The CMA Order Behind the Rollout

Google began rolling out AI Overviews in the U.S. in May 2024, then expanded the feature internationally over the following year and added AI Mode on desktop in 2025 as a more conversational, AI-first results experience. In July 2025, Google AI Mode went live in the UK.

Since the launch of these features, publishers have raised concerns that AI-generated search features reduce direct traffic to websites while still relying on their content to produce summaries. The debate has centered on transparency, consent, and how content is reused inside AI systems. Independent measurement from the period since the launch has consistently shown a material decline in click-through to publisher sites whenever an AI Overview is attached to the result.

This is where the UK Competition and Markets Authority comes in. The regulator has been reviewing how dominant search platforms handle content usage in AI-powered search experiences. The toggle's UK debut tracks closely with the CMA's first conduct order against Google under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The order, also issued on June 3, requires Google to:

• Let publishers opt out of being used to ground AI Search features without losing standard Search
• To separately opt out of having content used to train and fine-tune Google's AI models
• To apply both controls at domain and page level, to properly attribute publisher content in AI responses, and to file compliance reports. The CMA has set a nine-month implementation window.

Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA, said:

"Today, we have introduced a world‑first requirement on Google’s search services in the UK, enabling fair treatment, greater transparency and meaningful choice for businesses and consumers. With features like AI Overviews rapidly reshaping online search, it is crucial that content publishers, including news organisations, have appropriate bargaining power over how their content is used."

However, Google's announcement commits only to globalising the grounding and appearance toggle after UK testing. The separate training and fine-tuning opt-outs the CMA mandated are not addressed in the post. Publishers had specifically pressed for the fine-tuning carve-out, arguing it would prevent Google from reaching their content indirectly even if grounding was disabled.

What Google Changed and How the New Toggle Works

In response, Google has now added a dedicated toggle inside Search Console that focuses specifically on AI Search usage. The company says publishers can now manage how their content is used in AI Overviews, AI Mode, and AI Overviews in Discover.

The control sits inside Search Console. Switching it off removes a site from the pool of pages Google uses to ground generative AI Search responses, and prevents the site from appearing in those responses. Google says sites that opt out will receive no traffic or impressions from these generative AI features, and that the setting is not used as a ranking signal for regular Search.

Until today, publishers had no way to keep their content out of AI Overviews without also leaving Google Search. Google-Extended, the robots.txt token introduced in 2023, covers training of Gemini and Vertex AI but does not block the AI Overviews grounding flow, because those responses are built from the regular Search index. Snippet controls limited what Google quoted in featured snippets but applied across all of Search rather than just AI features.

Performance Report and Updated Guidance

Alongside the toggle, Google has begun rolling out a Generative AI performance report in Search Console covering impressions, top pages appearing in AI responses, and country and device breakdowns. The company has also refreshed its AI optimisation guidance, pointing to unique non-commodity content, page experience and high-quality imagery as the main levers for visibility in AI features. Google said additional metrics will be added to the AI performance report over time.

The package builds on a sequence of changes to how Google surfaces sources inside AI answers. The company has added inline links and website previews in AI responses, and previously brought Preferred Sources along with new subscription labels into AI Overviews and AI Mode.

Why It Matters for Marketers and Publishers

The practical question for marketers and SEO teams is whether opting out is rational. Independent measurement has reported a 47.5% desktop click-through drop on results carrying an AI Overview, and Press Gazette and Chartbeat figures put global Google traffic to publishers down roughly a third year-on-year through November 2025. The new Search Console report is the first official data Google has shared with publishers to weigh AI Search exposure against traditional referral traffic.

The opt-out also fits a wider publisher push for control over AI grounding. Microsoft has launched a paid licensing program for publishers contributing to Copilot's AI answers, while OpenAI have signed direct deals with major news groups. The UK conduct order is the first instance of a regulator mandating opt-out rather than leaving it to commercial negotiation.