JAKARTA - News publishers in Britain have a new bargaining tool against Google. They can now block articles from being used in AI summaries in search results, without having to disappear from regular Google searches.
According to a report by The Guardian, quoted Wednesday, June 3, the decision was announced by the Competition and Markets Authority or CMA, the UK competition authority. The CMA said the new rules give publishers a stronger position to negotiate the use of content with Google.
The problem is simple, but the impact is huge. Since Google put AI summaries at the top of the search page, many users just read the short answer without going to the news site. As a result, click traffic fell. Media revenue was also depressed.
Previously, websites have struggled to resist having their content used for AI Overviews, which are summaries of AI answers in Google search results, without also being excluded from traditional Google searches. For media, it's a tough choice. Google is still the main gateway for readers to find news.
The CMA said Google controls more than 90 percent of general searches in the UK. With such a position, the media hardly has much room to say no.
The News Media Association, which represents British news publishers including The Guardian, welcomed the decision. They called it an important step towards a fairer, more transparent, and rewarding digital economy for premium content.
Google said it would begin testing new controls on some media sites in the UK on Wednesday. The tool allows site owners to control how their links and content appear in Google's AI search feature. The goal is that this feature will be launched globally.
The new rules also require Google to clearly attribute publisher content in AI-based search results. This means that news sources must be visible and properly linked, not just summarized into an instant answer.
CMA Chief Executive Sarah Cardell said content publishers, including news organizations, must have a decent bargaining power over the use of their works.
He called this policy the world's first requirement for Google's search service in the UK. According to Cardell, the rule paves the way for fairer treatment, greater transparency, and more tangible choices for businesses and consumers.
The Guardian also reported that the CMA will monitor the major changes announced by Google in May regarding its search platform. These changes could change the way search results are displayed to users in the UK.
This is not just a matter of media and search engines. There is big money behind it. The CMA estimates that the cost of search advertising is equivalent to almost 500 pounds sterling per British household per year. A healthier competition is considered to be able to reduce those costs.
Tom Lewis, competition lawyer at Geradin Partners and former CMA director, said the move helps publishers retain control over their work.
"CMA deserves credit for tackling this issue. They are trying to open up competition on major digital platforms," Lewis said, quoted by The Guardian.
Google, through a blog post, stated that it was working with regulators such as the CMA so that site owners had the right tools when user habits changed.
Mrinalini Loew, General Manager of the Google Search Ecosystem, said Google is starting to test new tools to organize the display of links and content in AI features, including AI Overviews and AI Mode.
He emphasized that the new control would not be a ranking signal for search results outside of the generative AI feature. In other words, media decisions to block content from AI summaries should not make their positions go down in regular Google searches.
The ruling gives publishers in Britain greater control over the use of their content in Google's AI features. For the media industry, that's important because journalistic work has long been one of the main sources of information that search engines and AI services summarize.
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