UK publishers can opt-out of Google's AI search
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has introduced a new conduct requirement for Google search in the UK, allowing publishers to opt-out of their content being used for AI features. This measure aims to enhance transparency and bargaining power for publishers while improving consumer trust in search results. The CMA will monitor Google's compliance and may take further action if necessary.
- ▪Publishers can now opt-out of their content being used to power AI features in Google search.
- ▪The new requirement aims to secure a fairer deal for publishers and consumers.
- ▪Google must ensure proper attribution of publisher content in AI-generated search results.
4 outlets in our directory ran this story, first to last over 3 hours. All of the coverage we found sits in one bucket: centre. That one-sidedness is itself worth noticing.
Hacker News (Newest) files mainly under programming. We currently carry 5,306 of its stories.
Story provenance
Source · retrieval · rights · ranking — open for full record
inspect →
Story provenance
Attribution is not the same as permission. This drawer separates discovery metadata, excerpts, WeSearch-generated summaries, reuse status, and whether the publisher receives the visit. Nothing here claims a legal grant the publisher has not made.
Record
| Original publisher | GOV.UK |
| Canonical URL | https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-secures-fairer-deal-for-publishers-and-improves-google-search-services-in-uk |
| Publication time | Wed, 03 Jun 2026 06:03:04 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-06-03T06:11:56.795Z |
| Last seen | 2026-06-03T06:11:56.795Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
| Excerpt source | publisher body |
| Excerpt method | First ~120 words (~800 chars) of extracted publisher body, fair-use limited. |
| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
| Citation coverage | Summary is a WeSearch-generated derivative; primary citation is the original publisher URL. |
| Cluster | AZ36Hw2cJLex · 4 stories |
| Cluster logic | Grouped by semantic title/content similarity across sources within a rolling window. Same-publisher template collisions are excluded from coverage comparison. |
| Ranking reason | Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking. |
| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
| Substitutes article? | No — link-out required for full text |
Rights status (four layers)
WeSearch handling by dimension
| Indexing | May the item be indexed (stored, ranked, made findable)? | Allowed |
| Snippet | May a short excerpt of the publisher's text be shown? | Allowed |
| AI summary | May WeSearch generate its own short summary of the article? | Limited |
| Retrieval / RAG | May the content be exposed for third-party retrieval-augmented generation? | Not asserted |
| Model training | May the content be used to train AI models? | Not asserted |
| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
Basis: Derived from the published RSS/Atom feed. Contact: [email protected]. Reviewed: 2026-07-24.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Press release CMA secures fairer deal for publishers and improves Google search services in UK Conduct requirement introduced today gives publishers more control and stronger bargaining power over the use of their content. From: Competition and Markets Authority Published 3 June 2026 New conduct requirement imposed under the digital markets competition regime In a world first, publishers will be able to opt out of their content being used to power AI features in Google search CMA monitoring AI developments in Google search and may take further action if needed The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today imposed a new conduct requirement for Google search, meaning it must take specific action under the UK’s digital markets competition regime.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at GOV.UK.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from GOV.UK
