UK’s CMA Asks Google To Let Websites Opt Out Of AI Overviews

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has proposed changes to Google’s search services to give publishers and users more options. Under the plans, websites could “opt out” of having their content included in Google’s AI Overviews or used to train AI models, without affecting their search rankings.

The CMA, which designated Google with strategic market status in October, said the changes aim to increase competition and provide more control to businesses and consumers. News publishers have reported a drop in click-through rates due to users relying on AI-generated overviews. CMA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sarah Cardell said the measures would give a fairer deal to content publishers and more choice to users. Google responded that AI Overviews help people discover content and that it is exploring options for site-level controls without disrupting the search experience.

A consultation on the proposals will close on February 25, 2026.