Google opened Search Console opt-out controls for its AI features worldwide on August 31, following a U.K.-only conduct requirement imposed by the CMA over the summer, Digiday reported.
The setting allows publishers to exclude their content from Google’s AI functionalities. Page-level grounding controls are scheduled for release by March 3, 2027.
However, the current controls are bundled together. Publishers cannot opt out of individual features selectively. That forces media organizations to weigh potential search visibility against a total loss of control.
Publishers are holding off on using the new controls until Google provides missing click metrics. Google is required to supply this click data to U.K. publishers by December 3, according to Digiday. Publishers hope this transparency will extend globally, though Google has not confirmed that expansion.
Google has shared impression data with regulators and publishers to show cooperation. Impression metrics reveal how often content appears in AI features, but they do not show whether users actually click through to publisher websites.
“That is the metric that will determine whether they turn it off or not,” said Chris Dicker, CEO of Candr Media, in an interview with Digiday. He added that “everyone is holding off” experimenting with the settings until that data arrives.
Search Console may not receive click and query data for its AI reporting features. Gary Illyes from Google implied that click and query data are likely not coming to the AI performance report in Google Search Console, Search Engine Roundtable reported. Illyes noted that the team wants to provide data that makes sense, but did not confirm that clicks fit that definition.
This response followed online discussions where SEO professionals and site owners requested click-through metrics for AI Overviews and AI Mode results. John Mueller from Google later remarked on Bluesky that interpreting the initial staff comment was unusual, leaving the exact future of Search Console metrics uncertain.
Publishers face difficult choices regarding AI visibility versus traffic acquisition. Josh Muncke, vice president of generative AI at The Economist Group, stated at a Digiday event that his organization is looking at the CMA controls but has not yet tested them. Muncke noted that decisions will depend on overall traffic volume and brand presence in AI answers.
Meanwhile, the Professional Publishers Association is lobbying the CMA to unbundle the controls. They want settings applied to individual features rather than entire sites and pages. Without granular options, publishers risk losing valuable referral traffic from sources like Google Discover if they make a blanket opt-out decision.
It is a setting that lets publishers exclude their content from Google’s AI features. Google made this tool available worldwide on August 31 following U.K. regulatory requirements.
Google is required to provide the click data to U.K. publishers by December 3. Publishers are waiting for this metric before deciding whether to use the opt-out controls.
Page-level grounding controls are officially due by March 3, 2027. Publishers currently must use bundled settings that apply to entire sites rather than individual features.
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