UK publishers just got a new lever to pull on Google's search empire. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority says news groups and similar outlets can now stop their work from being used in Google's AI-generated search summaries without disappearing from regular search results, reports the Guardian. CMA chief Sarah Cardell calls it a "world-first requirement" that's meant to boost publishers' bargaining power as AI overviews increasingly sit above traditional links and siphon off clicks and ad revenue.
Google, which handles more than 90% of overall searches in the UK, will also have to clearly attribute publisher content and link back to it in its AI results. A test version of the new control tool is now rolling out to some UK media sites, with plans for a global expansion. "This work builds on our long history of designing tools ... that give websites more choice," the company said in a Wednesday blog post.
The News Media Association labeled the move a major step toward a fairer digital market, while a competition lawyer for publishers called Google's global rollout plan a "big win," per the Guardian. The CMA, which recently gave Google "strategic market status" in search, says it will watch how the changes play out and promises more Google-related actions in the coming weeks. The new move will lead to "fair treatment, greater transparency, and meaningful choice for businesses and consumers" and will help UK users to "better understand and trust the information presented to them," Cardell says, per the AP.
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