CMA forces – The UK Competition and Markets Authority says publishers can block Google from using their content to power AI search tools like AI Overviews, and can also halt that content from being used to fine-tune Google’s AI models. Google has nine months to implement t
For U.K. publishers, the Google search results page has long been a high-wire act: keep appearing in links, or risk losing visibility. Now the UK Competition and Markets Authority has changed the rules of that bargain—especially for AI Overviews. where AI-generated summaries can pull from publisher content while traffic to websites can be reduced.
Today, the CMA announced a “world first” shift. Publishers will no longer be required to allow Google’s AI-generated tools to use their content in exchange for appearing in the search engine’s traditional links. The CMA said this will give publishers. including news organisations. “effective tools to prevent their content being used to power AI features in search. such as AI Overviews.”.
The CMA also said publishers will be able to stop Google from using their content for “fine-tuning” its AI models. In addition, the search engine will have to use clear attribution and links in its AI-generated results.
The timing matters. The CMA’s decision lands only weeks after Google announced sweeping changes to its search business, including an “intelligent AI-powered Search box” and Gemini 3.5 Flash-powered AI Mode.
Sarah Cardell. chief executive of the CMA. said in a statement that Google’s search shifts are exactly why the requirements were introduced. “Google has recently announced changes to its search business and the requirements we’ve introduced today are designed to respond to what Google is doing now and in the future. ” Cardell said.
Google has nine months to implement the required adjustments. The CMA will oversee the changes, and Google must submit compliance reports to the CMA every six months for at least the first year.
For now, Google appears to be preparing to comply rather than challenge the direction of travel. Today, it said it is rolling out “new controls and insights” after feedback from creators and publishers and after discussions with the CMA.
One key change Google is testing is a new toggle that lets publishers remove their website from Google’s AI search tools—whether that is AI Overviews. AI Mode. or other features. Google said: “Sites that opt out will not receive traffic or impressions from our generative AI features. ” and it added that “this control will not be used as a ranking signal for search results outside of these generative AI Search features.”.
Google also said it will roll out impression metrics and data showing which website pages are in AI responses and where those responses are being seen around the world.
Because the CMA’s move is tied to regulatory enforcement, Google will not start with everyone. It plans to first test these features with a small number of U.K.-based website owners.
The question hanging over the industry is how much leverage the CMA really has to make a technology giant comply. This is where the UK regulator’s earlier actions become crucial.
In October 2025, the CMA designated Google’s general search engine and search advertising services with “strategic market status” (SMS). The CMA said this designation applies when it determines a company “has substantial and entrenched market power and a position of strategic significance in a digital activity.”.
With SMS, the CMA gains the power to take steps including introducing interventions, protecting customers, and unlocking competition. That designation. the CMA said. comes under the UK Digital Markets. Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act. which went into effect on January 1. 2025. Not long after, the CMA launched its investigation into Google Search.
Taken together. the CMA’s new requirement gives publishers a direct lever over whether their content can be used to power Google’s AI search features—without having to trade that permission for inclusion in traditional links. Google’s response, with an opt-out toggle and reporting on where AI responses appear, suggests it understands the pressure.
But the bigger test is still ahead: whether Google can meet the nine-month timeline set by the CMA, and whether compliance reporting over the next year keeps the promised controls and attribution real—not theoretical.
CMA UK Competition and Markets Authority Google AI Overviews AI Mode Gemini 3.5 Flash publishers content rights AI fine-tuning strategic market status DMCC Act compliance reports