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

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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...