TechCrunch: UK regulation gives publishers an opt-out from AI Search

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has required Google to offer publishers a mechanism to exclude their content from generative AI search features. On June 3, 2026, Google announced compliance: a new toggle in Search Console that lets publishers opt out of AI Overviews, AI Mode, and AI Overviews in Discover — all three at once or selectively. The UK’s CMA called the mechanism a “world first,” describing it as an initial rollout in the UK before potential global expansion.

Two details are worth noting for publishers and journalists tracking this area. First, Google is providing impression data and page-level reporting on AI search appearances, giving publishers visibility into how their content is being used inside AI responses before they decide whether to stay or opt out. Second, the CMA explicitly states that opting out of AI features will not negatively affect a publisher’s traditional organic search rankings — addressing the concern that the decision is effectively forced by the risk of search demotion.

The regulation creates leverage that publishers have not had before, at least in the UK. It does not resolve the deeper economics of AI traffic — AI Overviews serve 2.5 billion monthly users, and Google is deploying performance data partly to show publishers how much visibility they would forgo by opting out. But it establishes that content exclusion is now a right rather than a technical workaround, which changes the shape of negotiations between publishers and AI search platforms.