The search engine responded to the new digital rules proposed by the UK competition authority. Among the announcements: a future control allowing web publishers to exclude their content from generative AI features in Search.
Key takeaways:
- Google published an official response to the UK Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) regulatory proposals, stating it supports their goals of fairness and choice for publishers.
- The company says it is developing an option allowing websites to specifically opt out of generative AI features in Search, such as AI Overviews.
- Regarding default choices, Google opposes repeated selection screens and instead proposes a permanent toggle in Android device settings.
- Google claims its ranking systems do not favour its own services, a position it says is confirmed by the CMA's own analyses.
The CMA is pushing Google to open up its systems further
The context is that of digital regulation being built in the United Kingdom. The CMA has made proposals to impose new rules on the major digital platforms, with three main objectives:
- Ensure fairness in search results,
- Make it easier for users to choose services,
- Give publishers more control over the use of their content.
In response, Google published on March 18, 2026 a post on its official blog, The Keyword, detailing its position on each of those points. While the Mountain View giant says it supports the CMA's overall ambitions, it disputes certain modalities and puts forward its own proposals.
A generative AI opt-out currently in development
This is probably the most significant news for web professionals. Google announces that it is developing new controls allowing site owners to specifically exclude themselves from generative AI features in Search, starting with AI Overviews, those synthesized answer blocks that appear at the top of results pages (excluding France).
Until now, publishers had some tools to limit the use of their content by Google's crawlers. But no mechanism allowed them to precisely exclude their pages from AI-generated results while remaining present in the regular indexation. This distinction is central: many publishers see their content feeding AI answers without generating any traffic from it, which directly impacts their business model.
Google also specifies that AI Overviews make links to sources more visible, presenting this feature as a content discovery lever rather than as a threat to publishers. The future opt-out would complement this approach by leaving the final choice to site owners.
On search results, Google defends its current practices
On the question of fairness in the results, Google maintains that its ranking algorithms do not favor its own productsThe company relies on the CMA's own analyses to support this claim. It warns against certain proposals from third parties, which it considers unfounded, that could, in its view, expose its systems to manipulation and weaken the fight against spam, to the detriment of UK users.
Android: a toggle instead of repeated screens
The CMA had also considered requiring the regular display of default search engine selection screens on Android devices, beyond the one offered during initial setup. Google strongly opposes this, arguing that these repeated interruptions are poorly received by users.
Its counter-proposal : incorporate an option in the form of a switch, accessible in device settings, allowing the default search engine to be changed at any time without unnecessary friction. The company reminds that choice screens are already shown during the setup of new Android devices in the UK.
Google says it wants to continue working constructively with the CMA to reach concrete solutions, in the interest of users, publishers and UK businesses.
The article “Google is preparing an option to exclude its content from AI results in Search” was published on the site Abondance.
