The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has imposed a new conduct requirement on Google that gives publishers more control over how their content is used in generative AI search.
The rule requires Google to provide “effective controls” over the use of publisher content in generative AI, explain how that content is being used, provide clearer engagement metrics and take reasonable steps to attribute publisher material with clear links. The CMA describes the measure as a way to give publishers stronger bargaining power as AI-generated search results change how users find information online.
The important shift is that publishers should be able to opt out of Google’s AI search features without disappearing from ordinary Google search. That matters because publishers have long faced an ugly trade-off: allow Google to use their material in AI-generated answers, or risk losing the search visibility that still drives much of the web’s referral traffic.
Google says it is testing new controls that let website owners manage how their links and content appear in generative AI search features such as AI Overviews and AI Mode. Sites that opt out would not receive traffic or impressions from those AI features, but Google says the control will not be used as a ranking signal in traditional search.
For media companies, the issue is not simply “AI training.” It is a more specific fight over search summaries, attribution, traffic substitution, licensing leverage and whether publishers can separate normal indexing from AI reuse. That distinction matters for any company trying to protect owned editorial, archive or rights-managed material without making itself invisible to audiences.
The new rule does not settle the economics. It does not automatically compensate publishers for AI use, and it remains to be seen how effective the controls and reporting will be in practice. But it gives publishers a clearer lever than they had before. For anyone managing media rights, audience acquisition or digital publishing strategy, that is worth watching closely.