Google ordered to put clearer links in AI search and let UK publishers opt out

UK regulators today ordered Google to put clearer attributions and links to publishers’ content in its AI-generated search features. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) also said Google must give publishers a way to opt out of AI features in search.

“In a world first, publishers will now have effective tools to prevent their content being used to power AI features in search, such as AI Overviews,” the CMA said today. “This will put publishers, like news organizations, in a stronger position to negotiate content deals with Google. To boost consumer trust, Google is also now required to make sure that publisher content is properly attributed, using clear links, in AI‑generated search results.”

The CMA ruled that Google may not penalize publishers for opting out of AI, meaning that Google can’t downrank opted-out publishers in general search results. The CMA said Google will have nine months to comply with all requirements but that the agency “expects important parts of the controls to become available to publishers well before that deadline. Google will also be required to submit and publish compliance reports, supported by key data and metrics, explaining changes it has made and how it has complied.”

Google’s AI Overviews tend to give confident-sounding responses to search queries, but the links to sources in the AI Overviews may or may not support those confident responses. Clearer attribution and links could make it easier for searchers to determine the accuracy of AI Overview summaries.

The CMA applied the rules to Google after determining that it has “strategic market status” in general search services, and has ongoing investigations into Apple and Microsoft. Google today said it will comply with the CMA decision.

Google opposed “excessive attribution”

Google said last month that it would add more links to websites in AI Overviews, but it opposed the attribution requirement in its formal response to the CMA proceeding in February. Google said it is “already motivated to strike the right balance between attribution and usability.”

“Excessive attribution of lots of sources may worsen the user experience and lead to fewer clicks; not more,” Google told the CMA. “But too little attribution and publishers may decide to opt out, depriving Google of their content for grounding Search genAI features.”

Google also objected to the CMA’s opt-out rule. But now that the proceeding is over, Google today announced new controls for website owners in response to the UK directive.

“Today, we’re beginning to test a new control that lets website owners manage how their links and content appear in generative AI Search features,” Google said. “With this new toggle in Search Console, website owners can decide if they want their site to appear in and help ground responses in our generative AI Search features (like AI Overviews, AI Mode or AI Overviews in Discover). Sites that opt out will not receive traffic or impressions from our generative AI features. This control will not be used as a ranking signal for search results outside of these generative AI Search features.”

Google also said it is giving website owners more data through the Search Console, including “impressions metrics and information about which pages appear in AI responses and in what countries.” It said the Search Console changes are now being provided “to a subset of website owners in the UK, allowing for thorough testing before rolling them out to website owners globally.”

Google says it will comply

While Google said the Search Console changes will eventually roll out globally, it didn’t say in the blog post whether the UK-mandated changes to attributions and links will be available everywhere. Google also didn’t answer that question when contacted by Ars today.

Google told Ars that it will fully comply with the CMA’s new conduct requirements, and said its recent announcements of additional links to web content in AI search results apply globally. Google’s blog post didn’t say what changes it will make to comply with the requirement for clearer attribution and links to publishers in AI results, but said the firm is “continuing to experiment with a range of new link designs in our AI experiences to make them more useful.”

A notice published by the CMA said Google must “take reasonable steps to ensure that Search Content in search generative AI features is attributed clearly, accurately, and that end users are provided with a clear means to access that Search Content.” The CMA’s decision noted that some “stakeholders said there are instances where attribution in search generative AI features has been inaccurate and that the clarity of such attribution could be improved.”

The CMA required Google to publish explanatory information detailing how it meets the new attribution requirement and how it ensures and measures “the factuality of search generative AI features.”

“As set out in consultation, we consider that transparency over attribution is important so that publishers can trust that, where Google uses Search Content in search generative AI features, it is sufficiently and accurately attributed,” the CMA said. “This, in turn, helps publishers make properly informed and meaningful decisions about whether and how they interact with Google in respect of general search services. Transparency measures also bring benefits to end users as they help them understand how Google has attributed responses and therefore help them to trust the responses they receive.”

Opt-out dispute

As for opt-outs, the CMA notice said “Google shall provide publishers with effective controls to withhold their Search Content from being used in generative AI services and features.” The opt-outs must cover the training and grounding of Google’s broader generative AI services and its AI search features, the CMA said. For Google’s AI search features, the CMA said opt-outs must be available to publishers at both the directory and page levels.

Google’s February response to the CMA proposal argued that the company’s “current opt-outs are sufficient and effective.” The firm told the CMA that it would “be disproportionate to require Google to offer page-level opt-outs. Constantly crawling and re-crawling content that is constantly being opted in and out will increase costs for Google, and thereafter increase crawl costs for publishers. It may lead to user confusion and a fragmented and inconsistent user experience.”

Today’s CMA’s decision rejected this argument, saying that regulators “have not seen evidence suggesting that enabling publishers to exercise page-level controls would require increased crawling activity.” It said Google eventually conceded to the CMA that it would be possible to introduce page-level controls if given enough time.

The CMA said the nine-month deadline should provide “sufficient time to carry out additional technical work to design and implement these aspects of the control effectively.” Google must provide an implementation plan within one month, the decision said.

The News Media Association, a trade group in the UK, said that “the legally enforceable Conduct Requirements for Google Search published today are a significant step towards leveling the playing field and building a fair, transparent digital economy where premium content is properly respected and fairly compensated.” The group called on the UK to implement “robust enforcement.”