UK Watchdog Moves To Curb Google’s Search Engine Dominance, Lets Websites Block AI Overviews

Last Updated:January 28, 2026, 22:32 IST

Britain's watchdog proposes letting websites opt out of Google AI Overviews, aiming for fairer deals for websites and better control for businesses and consumers.

According to website publishers, particularly media outlets, the AI-generated summaries discourage clicks to publishers' original pages, reducing traffic to their sites and in turn cutting their advertising revenue.

Britain’s competition watchdog on Wednesday proposed to allow websites to opt out of having content used by Google’s “AI Overviews" feature.

CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said the proposal, which is out for consultation till February 25, “would give UK businesses and consumers more choice and control over how they interact with Google’s search services".

She further said that it “would also provide a fairer deal for content publishers, particularly news organisations, over how their content is used in Google’s AI Overviews".

According to AFP, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in October paved the way for tougher regulation on the matter, under new targeted measures focused on technology giants.

Under the latest proposal by CMA, publishers “be able to opt out of their content being used to power AI features such as AI Overviews or to train AI models outside of Google search".

“Google will also be required to take practical steps to ensure publisher content is properly attributed in AI results," it added.

AFP quoted website publishers, particularly media outlets, stating that the AI-generated summaries discourage clicks to publishers’ original pages, reducing traffic to their sites and in turn cutting their advertising revenue.

“Google is able to extract valuable data without reward, harming publishers and giving the company an unfair advantage over competitors in the AI model market," said Owen Meredith, chief executive of industry group, News Media Association.

Meanwhile, Google, which is relied on by over 200,000 businesses for advertising to reach customers, said it was already working on updating its controls “to let sites specifically opt out of search generative AI features".

“Any new controls need to avoid breaking search in a way that leads to a fragmented or confusing experience for people," the company’s principal for product management, Ron Eden, said in a statement.

One of the other proposals by CMA is displaying a screen to allow changing a user’s default search engine, and rules guaranteeing a fair ranking of results.

“These measures will give publishers — including news and other content producers — stronger bargaining power and support the long-term sustainability of trusted information online," Will Hayter, executive director for digital markets at the CMA, said in a blog post.

“They will also help people verify sources in AI-generated results and build trust in what they see," he added.

News tech UK Watchdog Moves To Curb Google’s Search Engine Dominance, Lets Websites Block AI Overviews

Read More