The UK competition watchdog said it will ‘put publishers, like news organisations, in a stronger position to negotiate content deals with Google’.
News groups and other online publishers will be able to choose not to appear in the AI Overviews of Google search results in a move hailed as a “world first” by Britain’s competition watchdog.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has given Google nine months to roll out changes required under a range of so-called conduct requirements.
It comes after the CMA designated the firm with strategic market status in general search services in October for its “substantial and entrenched market power” in the sector.
The CMA said: “In a world first, publishers will now have effective tools to prevent their content being used to power AI features in search, such as AI Overviews.
“This will put publishers, like news organisations, in a stronger position to negotiate content deals with Google.”
Today we have imposed a new conduct requirement under the UK’s digital markets regime.
We’ve secured a fairer deal for UK publishers and improvements to how Google search works in the UK.
Find out more: https://t.co/FhUCOjBtnN pic.twitter.com/q4oBXgPoeS
— Competition & Markets Authority (@CMAgovUK) June 3, 2026
Google must also ensure that publisher content is properly attributed, with clear links, in artificial intelligence-generated search results, which the CMA said will help boost consumer trust.
The tech giant will also have to allow publishers to opt-out of allowing their content to be used for “fine-tuning” of AI models.
“This provides publishers with confidence that they will have control over the full range of AI use-cases of their content,” the CMA said.
The CMA said it wants to see Google comply with key parts of the new requirements “well before” the nine months deadline.
It follows complaints by many publishers over a sharp decline in website traffic since Google launched AI-generated summaries at the top of search results.
CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell 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.
“At the same time, these measures will help tens of millions of UK search users better understand and trust the information presented to them.”
She added: “We’ll also continue to use the unique flexibility of the UK regime to monitor and address future concerns as they arise and we will be announcing further action in relation to Google’s search business in the coming weeks.”
