The U.K. has just imposed legal guardrails on Google's AI search onslaught. On Wednesday, Google announced compliance with the U.K.'s regulatory requirements, which state that the tech giant must offer publishers a way to opt out of being aggregated into AI search. Once opted out, the publisher's site will not be shown in Google's generative AI Search features, like AI Overviews, AI Mode, or AI Overviews in Discover. (Google, of course, makes a point to note in the same announcement that its AI Overviews now have over 2.5 billion monthly active users, and its AI Mode has surpassed one billion monthly users.) The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) calls the move to put publishers back in control of how their content is used a 'world first,' and points out that it will put publishers, including news organizations, into a stronger position to negotiate content deals with Google for use of their content in AI features. The CMA had first designated Google as having 'strategic...
learn more
