Google tests website opt-out toggle for AI Search as publishers demand more control

Google Is Testing an Option for Websites to Opt Out of AI Search

Expertise Health and wellness tech, meal kits, home and kitchen tech, food, mental health Google is testing a new option that lets website owners manage how their content and links appear in the company's generative AI Search features, the company announced in a Keyword blog post early Wednesday morning. The test offers publishers more insight and control over how they show up in AI-powered search results as Google appears to be leaning more and more toward chatbot-like interfaces as opposed to the traditional "10 blue links" results pages. At its I/O developer conference in May, the company showed off changes like an expanded AI Mode and a search box that adjusts to fit the context of your query. This general trend toward AI-powered search has caused consternation among publishers in part out of fear that users will stay on the search page instead of venturing to the websites themselves, despite the fact that those publishers often provide the information relayed by the AI search tool. Publishers also have limited visibility into how their content appears in AI Overviews or AI Mode results. In the test launching this week with a small group of publishers in the UK, the website owners will be able to decide whether their site will be used for and appear in AI Search. "Sites that opt out will not receive traffic or impressions from our generative AI features," said Mrinalini Loew, general manager of Google Search Ecosystem, in the blog post. The new control also won't be used to determine how websites rank in Google search results outside of its generative AI Search. In Google Search Console, website owners can also gain additional insights into how their pages appear in AI Search. This includes information on which pages show up in AI responses across different countries, as well as impression metrics. "We're continuing to work with website owners to understand what insights will be most helpful to inform their strategies, and we'll introduce additional metrics over time," Loew wrote. Google said it is starting with a group of UK publishers in a test before the feature rolls out globally.

Google will allow websites to exclude themselves from AI search results - Engadget

The company says opting out won't impact placement in regular searches. More than three years after it began rolling out AI Overviews and a year after the debut of AI Mode, Google is giving webmasters the option to exclude their domains from its AI-generated search results. In a blog post published early Wednesday morning, the company said it would begin testing a new toggle inside of its Search Console designed to allow website owners to decide if their webpages appear in and help ground the company's latest AI search features, including AI Overviews and AI Mode. The company plans to first test the toggle with a small subset of domain owners in the UK before rolling it out globally. "Sites that opt out will not receive traffic or impressions from our generative AI features," Google said. "This control will not be used as a ranking signal for search results outside of these generative AI Search features." Alongside the toggle, the company said it's beginning to roll out new insights inside of Search Console designed to provide webmasters with metrics and more information about which of their pages appear in AI responses and in what countries. "We're continuing to work with website owners to understand what insights will be most helpful to inform their strategies, and we'll introduce additional metrics over time," Google said. The company did not say what prompted the decision to give websites the power to exclude their material from AI search results. However, the announcement comes just weeks after the company's I/O 2026 developer keynote where it introduced a new dynamic Search Box that can become larger to fit complex queries, as well as process videos, images, files and even Chrome tabs as inputs. That announcement prompted plenty of articles declaring the death of "Google Search as you know it." Even if that sentiment was premature, there's been growing resentment toward Google from the very publishers who supply the information that makes the company's AI search features possible, and nowhere were those feelings more acutely expressed than in a recent TBPN interview featuring Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch. The executive said he told the company's teams last year to "assume there's no search" to bolster pageviews and revenue. He later clarified Condé Nast doesn't expect search traffic to literally reach zero, but he did say he expects referrals from Google to represent a single-digit percentage of total traffic moving forward.

Google will let websites opt out of AI Overviews, but it's trying to tempt them not to

The control is being tested with a subset of websites in the UK and will be rolled out globally after thorough testing. Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode can be useful tools, but users and website owners have had their fair share of complaints about these features. Now, Google is testing a new toggle to let websites opt out of its generative AI search results. Google announced today that it's adding a new control that will let website owners manage how their content appears in the company's AI Search features. The new toggle will appear in Search Console. Webmasters can use it to ensure that Google doesn't use content from their websites to provide search results in its generative AI Search features, including AI Overviews and AI Mode. Naturally, opting out of these features will mean that websites won't receive any traffic from those results, either. However, the company has confirmed that it will not use this setting as a ranking signal. Website owners can, therefore, safely opt out of generative AI Search tools without affecting their website's ranking in Google Search. This new control is a direct result of the UK's Competition and Markets Authority's recent ruling, ordering Google to give publishers more control over how their content is used by the company. Meanwhile, Google is adding new insights to Search Console as well. These will include data such as impressions and views from AI Search features. Though the company doesn't say this outright (obviously, it won't), it's quite possible that it wants website owners to be tempted not to opt out of AI Search once they see the impressions and visits their websites receive from features like AI Overviews and AI Mode. Possibly to that same end, the company today also announced that AI Overviews has over 2.5 billion monthly active users, and AI Mode has surpassed one billion monthly users as well. Recently, Google has been making its generative AI features more useful for publishers as well. It increased the number of inline links that appear within AI responses, and it also added "Preferred Sources" to AI Overviews and AI Mode. This new control, though necessitated by the UK's CMA, is obviously not something Google would want website owners and publishers to use. It's currently available to a small set of website owners in the UK, and the company says it will roll out the controls globally once it has done a thorough testing -- as for when that might happen, your guess is as good as ours.

Google will let websites opt-out of AI Mode & Overviews in Search

Google announced today that it will let publishers determine whether their websites appear and are used by AI Mode and AI Overviews, independently of regular Search results. Google is introducing a new opt-out toggle in the Search Console tool to determine whether a site appears in and is used to help ground generative AI Search features. Sites that opt out will not receive traffic or impressions from AI Overviews, AI Mode, or AI Overviews in Google Discover, but will otherwise continue to appear in regular Google Search results and the Discover feed. This setting only applies to those Google Search products, with the Gemini app excluded. Google says that a site's use of this opt-out will not impact its appearance in regular Search. Specifically, this control won't be used as a ranking signal. Additionally, Google is giving website publishers new generative AI Search stats in Search Console. Insights include impressions metrics, which pages appear in AI responses, and in what countries. Google reiterated today that AI Overviews now has over 2.5 billion monthly active users, while AI Mode has over 1 billion monthly users. It's also increasing the number of links that appear within AI results. This new control and metrics are beginning to roll out for a "subset" of website owners in the UK to allow for "thorough testing before rolling them out to website owners globally."

New opportunities, control and insights for website owners

People are increasingly turning to generative AI tools to help them find, sort through and understand information. As the way people want to look for information changes, we're designing our features in Search to highlight the web, while also providing new resources, insights and control for website owners to navigate these shifts. New opportunities with generative AI in Search With our generative AI Search features, people are more satisfied with Search, and they are searching more often. AI Overviews now has over 2.5 billion monthly active users, while AI Mode has surpassed one billion monthly users. And people are asking Search entirely new kinds of questions, creating new opportunities for brands, publishers and creators to reach people. Features like AI Overviews and AI Mode are designed to help people find and visit great websites, and to help publishers and websites strengthen their audiences. These features include prominent links to websites, and we're continuing to upgrade these experiences to make it easier for people to use generative AI as a jumping-off point. For example: * We've increased the number of inline links directly within responses and added helpful website previews to encourage people to click through. * We recently brought Preferred Sources into AI Overviews and AI Mode and launched new subscription labels in these features, so people can choose the websites that they want to see more prominently. * Looking ahead, we're continuing to experiment with a range of new link designs in our AI experiences to make them more useful. In addition, we've shared updated guidance to help website owners improve the visibility of their sites in generative AI Search features. This includes tips on the importance of providing unique, non-commodity content for readers, and information for websites about how to organize their content, create a good page experience and provide high quality images and video to enhance their pages. New control and insights for website owners We're also actively listening to feedback from publishers and creators, and engaging with regulators like the UK's Competition and Markets Authority to ensure website owners have the right tools as user preferences evolve. 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. 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. This work builds on our long history of designing tools, like snippet controls and Google-Extended, that give websites more choice. We're also starting to roll out new insights for website owners in Search Console about the appearance of their pages in generative AI Search features. These insights include impressions metrics and information about which pages appear in AI responses and in what countries. We're continuing to work with website owners to understand what insights will be most helpful to inform their strategies, and we'll introduce additional metrics over time. We are beginning to roll these features out to a subset of website owners in the UK, allowing for thorough testing before rolling them out to website owners globally. As AI opens up new opportunities for discovery, we'll keep improving our experiences to help people explore the web, and keep building tools for websites to better engage their audiences.

Google will let websites opt out of AI search results

Google will enable websites to exclude themselves from its AI-generated search results without affecting their placement in regular search results. The company announced this new feature in a blog post Wednesday, revealing plans to test a toggle in its Search Console that allows website owners to opt out of appearances in AI features, including AI Overviews and AI Mode. Initial testing will involve a small group of domain owners in the UK, followed by a global rollout. "Sites that opt out will not receive traffic or impressions from our generative AI features," Google stated. "This control will not be used as a ranking signal for search results outside of these generative AI Search features." Alongside the opt-out option, Google will also provide new metrics in Search Console to help webmasters track which of their pages appear in AI responses and the geographic distribution of that visibility. "We're continuing to work with website owners to understand what insights will be most helpful," Google said, indicating plans to introduce additional metrics based on user feedback. Google is engaging with regulators, including the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, to develop tools for website owners. The announcement follows Google's I/O 2026 developer keynote, where new features such as a dynamic Search Box were introduced, which can adapt to various input types. There has been increasing frustration among publishers regarding Google's AI search features. Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch recently mentioned that his company is shifting its strategy to "assume there's no search" to enhance pageviews and revenue. Lynch noted that referral traffic from Google is expected to represent only a single-digit percentage of total traffic in the future.

Google Is Letting Websites Opt Out of AI Overviews, But There's a Catch for Users

If you rely on Google's AI Overviews to get quick answers when you search, this might actually matter to you. Google announced today that it's giving website owners the ability to opt out of having their content used in AI Overviews and AI Mode, without any penalty to their regular search rankings. That sounds like a publisher story, and it is. But there's a user angle worth paying attention to. The opt-out is a new toggle inside Google Search Console. Flip it, and your site disappears from AI-generated results entirely. You won't show up in AI Overviews, AI Mode, or AI Overviews in Google Discover. Your regular search rankings stay untouched. Google is testing the feature with a small group of website owners in the UK first, with a global rollout to follow. What the opt-out actually means For publishers, this is a long time coming. Until now, the only way to keep your content out of Google's AI features was to opt out of Google Search altogether. Since Google handles more than 90% of search queries in the UK, that wasn't a real option for most sites. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority called it forced consent and stepped in. The CMA issued a binding ruling today requiring Google to provide these controls. It's the first mandatory order of this kind against a major tech platform in the UK, and Google has nine months to fully comply. The opt-out also covers content being used to fine-tune Google's AI models, something publishers had flagged as a separate concern. So back to you, the user. If a meaningful number of publishers flip that switch, Google's AI Overviews will be drawing from a smaller pool of content. Whether that affects quality is an open question, but it's worth keeping in mind as this rolls out globally.

Google Will Soon Let You Opt Out of AI Overviews for Your Website

Google will also let website owners opt out of AI Mode in Search Google is bringing new tools for website owners, giving them greater control over how their websites appear on the search engine. On Wednesday, the Mountain View-based tech giant announced that it has started testing new controls, which will allow website publishers to choose whether their website appears in Google's AI Overviews, AI Mode in Search, and AI Overviews in Discovery, depending on user preferences. The new toggle will appear in the Search Console, along with other website tools. Along with this, the company has started rolling out new insights for website operators, which will also appear in the Search Console. Google's Search Console Will Show New Controls, Insights Soon In a blog post on Wednesday, the US-based tech giant announced that it has started a new tool that allows website owners to decide whether they want their websites to appear on Google's AI Overviews, AI Mode in Search, and AI Overviews in Discovery, based on their preferences and the user behaviour. With the new tool, publishers can stop the links and content from their website from appearing in AI-powered summaries integrated within Google's search interface. The company said that the toggle for the same will appear in the Search Console. Google has also confirmed that websites that opt out of AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search will not receive traffic or impressions from its "generative AI search features". Further, the tech giant said that the control will not be used as a ranking signal outside of AI Overviews. Hence, it would not affect how the websites appear in regular search results. Apart from this, the Mountain View company has also announced that it has started rolling out new insights for website publishers in Search Console, which will highlight details regarding the appearance of their webpages in its generative AI Search tools, including AI Overviews and AI Mode in Search. The search giant will now provide impressions metrics, along with information about which webpages are displayed as part of the AI-generated responses and the names of the countries. The company plans to introduce new metrics "over time". The company said that these new control and insight tools are currently being rolled out to a "subset of website owners in the UK", with plans to make them available globally in the future.