The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has imposed binding rules on Google’s search services in a world first.
The UK competition regulator has formally demanded that Google allow publishers to opt out of having their content used to power AI features in search, including its AI Overviews product.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) imposed a conduct requirement today (3 June) under the UK’s digital markets competition regime, making it the first binding decision of its kind to be issued against a major UK technology platform.
Following the consultation response, publishers will also be able to have their content output used for the optimization of Google’s AI models, giving them control over the full range of AI usage scenarios for their content. Google will also be required to clearly attribute publisher content, using links, in AI-generated search results.
The CMA said the requirement would put publishers, including news organizations, in a stronger position to negotiate content deals with Google.
The decision follows Google’s designation in October 2025 as having strategic market status in UK search, a formal acquisition of large and concentrated market power that has given the CMA the power to impose targeted rules on the company.
The CMA said it was also responding to Google’s announcement in May that it planned significant changes to its search platform to further embed AI technology, which the regulator said could fundamentally change how search results are presented to UK users. Today’s requirement will apply to those changes.
“Today, we launched the world’s first requirement for Google’s search services in the UK, enabling fair management, transparency and meaningful choice for businesses and consumers,” said Sarah Cardell, CEO of the CMA.
“With features like AI Overviews rapidly changing internet search, it’s important that content publishers, including news organizations, have the right power to negotiate about how their content is being used.”
A Google spokesperson pointed to siliconrepublic.com in its official blog post response to the announcement, saying it will begin testing new changes to Search Console that allow website owners to decide whether their content appears in AI Overview, AI Mode and related features. Outbound sites won’t get traffic or impressions from those features, Google said, and the optimization won’t affect rankings in regular search results.
The company also said it will release new performance data in Search Console showing publishers which of their pages are appearing in AI responses and in which countries.
Google said it would start the rollout for a small group of UK website owners first, “allowing for thorough testing before rolling it out to website owners around the world”.
The blog post, written by Mrinalini Loew, general manager of the Google Search Ecosystem, did not specifically address the CMA’s decision but introduced the changes as part of Google’s plan to give website owners more control as user behavior shifts to AI-powered searches. Google said AI Overviews now has more than 2.5bn monthly active users and AI Mode has surpassed one billion.
Google has nine months to make all the necessary changes under the CMA’s conduct requirement, although the regulator said it expects key controls for publishers to be in place before that deadline. Google must submit compliance reports every six months in the first year, supported by data and metrics.
Cardell confirmed that further action related to Google’s search business will be announced in the coming weeks. The CMA said it has now launched investigations into the market conditions of four major technology companies since the digital markets regime came into effect last year, including Google, Apple and Microsoft.
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