The UK’s Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has proposed new rules with the aim of loosening Google’s grip on search.
Among them is more control for publishers over how the search engine uses their content in features like AI Overviews, including an opt-out of having their material included.
In its initial response at least, Google has promised it will co-operate.
How did we get here?
Back in October 2025, the CMA designated Google strategic market status (SMS) in search services.
At that time we could only speculate, based on its road map of potential measures, as to how the regulator might force Google to change how it operates search in the UK but now we have more of an idea.
What is the latest news?
Per the CMA’s latest announcement on the subject, there is now a package of proposed measures, designed to ‘help businesses and consumers make active and informed choices when using Google’s search services in the UK’.
With the aim of driving innovation and growth, the CMA’s four proposed conduct requirements include:
Publisher controls
Publishers will have the ability to opt out of their content being used to train external AI models or featured in AI-driven search tools, such as Google’s AI Overviews.
The search engine will also be required to implement clear measures for ensuring publisher content that appears in AI results is accurately attributed.
Fair ranking
Google will be required to adopt a fair and transparent approach to ranking search results (in traditional search as well as AI Overviews and AI Mode) for businesses.
The search engine will also need to implement a process that allows businesses to raise issues for Google’s investigation.
Choice screens
Default choice screens will be made a legal requirement on Android mobiles and introduced on the Chrome browser to make switching search services easier.
Data portability
Making search data easier for people and businesses to transfer and use by requiring Google to place its existing data portability tool on a legal footing.
Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA, said:
“Today is an important milestone as we consult on the first conduct requirements under the digital markets competition regime in the UK.
“These targeted and proportionate actions would give UK businesses and consumers more choice and control over how they interact with Google’s search services – as well as unlocking greater opportunities for innovation across the UK tech sector and broader economy.
“They would also provide a fairer deal for content publishers, particularly news organisations, over how their content is used in Google’s AI Overviews.”
How has Google responded?
Google’s principal for product management, Ron Eden, has responded to these measures in a statement that said:
“The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened a consultation on potential new requirements for Google Search, including on the controls we provide to websites to manage their content in Search AI features.
“This is a complex topic because it can affect how people find information and how websites get found in Search.
“For years, we have provided web publishers with a range of controls, based on open standards like robots.txt, to manage how their content appears in Search. As technology has evolved, so have our tools.
“We added controls for things like Featured Snippets and image previews (which also apply to AI Overviews). And more recently, we introduced Google-Extended, a new control that lets websites manage how their content is used to train our Gemini models.”
He added:
“Building on this framework, and working with the web ecosystem, we’re now exploring updates to our controls to let sites specifically opt out of Search generative AI features.
“Our goal is to protect the helpfulness of Search for people who want information quickly, while also giving websites the right tools to manage their content. We look forward to engaging in the CMA’s process and will continue discussions with website owners and other stakeholders on this topic.
“Any new controls need to avoid breaking Search in a way that leads to a fragmented or confusing experience for people. As AI increasingly becomes a core part of how people find information, any new controls also need to be simple and scalable for website owners.
“We’re optimistic we can find a path forward that provides even more choice to website owners and publishers, while ensuring people continue to get the most helpful and innovative Search experience possible.”
In short, Google is doubling down on its belief that publishers already have control over how their content appears in search results, but remains open to the CMA’s proposals to expand these controls – so long as they don’t negatively impact the overall user experience.
What does this mean for publishers and why should they care?
Following the introduction of AI Overviews and the rise in zero-click searches, many UK publishers have been left reeling from the impact of these AI-powered search evolutions.
This includes the owner of the Daily Mail who’s reported a massive 89% fall in traffic.
As a publisher (that’s anyone who creates content and shares it online), these latest proposed measures could give you more control over how your site ranks in Google searches and how your content is used in AI-generated search results.
While it’s possible that fairer ranking and clearer attribution in AI-driven search features may improve online visibility and traffic for some publishers, AI Overviews are likely to remain a key part of Google’s search experience.
As such, the CMA’s measures appear less focused on diverting traffic back to websites and more on offering publishers greater control over how their content is used and presented in Google’s search results.
The Aqueous Digital insight
While this proposed CMA intervention aims to promote competition and ensure fairness in Google search, these measures are presenting more questions than answers at this stage.
Among them are:
- How is the CMA going to enforce a fair and transparent approach to ranking search results?
- Will every business that fails to rank well for competitive search terms now be able to challenge Google?
- And, ultimately, are opt-out controls and attribution requirements enough to protect traffic for businesses that rely heavily on Google search?
We think not.
While the CMA’s proposals signal a clear step towards greater fairness and transparency, the current package of measures fails to successfully address the search challenges currently facing UK businesses.
What happens next?
Now, these proposed measures are just that – proposals.
The CMA must still go through a consultation process to gather and review feedback before a final decision can be made.
Stay in the loop with Aqueous Digital
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