Google's AI summaries: Opt-out announced for British media companies

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Google's AI summaries are causing great displeasure among operators of news sites. There are initiatives against it worldwide, and now possibly with a first success in Great Britain: Google wants to offer those affected an opt-out, as the company announced in a response to the British competition authority Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). However, Google is withholding details and a timeline.

For about a year now, they have also existed in Germany: Short texts with summaries of search results that appear at the very top of Google search results and reproduce what users would actually only read when visiting the found websites. This presents particular challenges for journalistic online media, which rely on the traffic to their content; for example, the significant decline in page views.

The dilemma for publishers: Google's crawlers can only be blocked entirely or not at all. Anyone who doesn't want Google to create AI summaries of their content can only completely prohibit the crawling of their pages – and would then no longer be found in Google search results or on Google Discover.

Google in the crosshairs of the British competition watchdog

In Great Britain, this prompted the CMA and the publisher association Publisher's Association to act. In 2025, Google initially earned the "Strategic Market Status" (SMS), with which the CMA classifies Google as a company of particularly great market power. This allows the authority to make far-reaching requirements; for example, how Google must design its search engine rankings in the British market.

In January, the CMA made initial proposals on how Google could improve market conditions. It called for more choice and transparency for publishers regarding AI summaries, fairer and more transparent rankings in search results with the possibility of reporting problems to Google, and legally mandated choice screens for the default search engine on Android devices and in the Google Chrome browser. Furthermore, the use of data analyses of Google search trends should become significantly easier. However, the proposals still need to be coordinated within the framework of the Digital Markets Regime – a legal framework for the regulation of digital markets in Great Britain, for example for app stores, social media or e-commerce platforms.

Separation between AI crawlers and web search crawlers demanded

These proposals were not far-reaching enough for the Publisher's Association. It demands that Google clearly separate AI crawlers from crawlers for Google Search. On Wednesday, Google published a statement on the CMA proposals. Regarding the opt-out for AI summaries, it only says: "We are developing further updates to our controls to let sites specifically opt-out of generative AI features in Search."

Google also commented on the demand for fairer and more transparent rankings and choice screens for the default search engine: "We don’t give our own products special treatment, a fact confirmed by the CMA’s own reviews.," emphasized the search engine giant.

Proposals from third parties could expose Google's systems and thus users to manipulation and abuse. However, there is no evidence for this. According to Google, it would make combating spam more difficult and ultimately impair the ability to introduce improvements for users in Great Britain. In the past, Google has had antitrust difficulties, for example in the USA, because the accusation was that Google was exploiting its market power to market its own advertising products at inflated prices.

Default Search Engine: Google suggests a switch in device settings

Google proposed an interesting alternative to the choice screens for the default search engine. First, the company referred to a corresponding choice screen that already appears in Great Britain during the initial setup of Android devices.

Android users can easily select their preferred services, and in Great Britain, choice screens are even displayed when setting up new Android devices. Google's view is that CMA's proposal to ask about the preferred search engine every year via a pop-up window would disturb users too much. Instead, the company advocates for a permanent switch in the device settings to change the default search engine at any time.

It is a first step that Google is taking in Great Britain towards the CMA and publishers. However, it is likely to take a considerable amount of time until it is definitively decided which measures Google must implement.

(nen)