A blow to Google. The UK puts a muzzle on AI. Will publishers regain control?

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has unveiled a package of measures to give businesses and consumers more choice when using Google Search, including allowing publishers to opt out of having their content used in AI Overview and from training standalone AI models.

The CMA's action follows Google's recognition in October 2025 as a company with “strategic market status”, which obliges it to comply with certain requirements. Google is the first company to be so labeled under new digital technology rules aimed at curbing the dominance of a few large companies in certain areas and increasing competition.

Publishers may opt out of being present in AI Overview

The proposed changes are intended to allow publishers to opt out of having their content displayed in the results shown by AI Overview, Google's artificial intelligence search, as well as a commitment by Google to ensure that “publisher content is correctly attributed in AI results.” The CMA also said it wanted Google to demonstrate how its search rankings are “fair and transparent to businesses”, including across its AI-based services.

As highlighted in the CMA announcement, Google search engine is responsible for over 90%. of all general searches in the UK, and millions of people use it as a key gateway to the internet. Over 200 thousand companies in the UK spent a total of over £10 billion on Google search advertising in 2025. It was noted that these services are important for the economy and society, which is why it is so important for competition to function properly.

“These targeted and proportionate actions will give UK businesses and consumers greater choice and control over how they use Google search services, and open up greater opportunities for innovation across the UK tech sector and wider economy. They will also provide a fairer playing field for content publishers, particularly news organizations, to use their content in Google's AI Overview,” CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said in a statement.

(PAP)

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