Alphabet Inc.’s Google will have to change its artificial intelligence-generated search summaries after Britain’s antitrust watchdog ordered it to give publishers more control over how their content is used.
The Competition and Markets Authority said the “world-first” move against Google would give publishers the opportunity to block their content from being used to power AI capabilities in search.
“This puts news organizations and other publishers in a stronger position to negotiate content deals with Google,” the CMA said on Wednesday.
The decision comes as Google faces increasing challenges to its search business from AI chatbots, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which are rapidly changing the way users interact with digital content.
In response, Google is pushing forward with its Gemini app, rapidly overhauling its popular search engine and integrating AI agents into various queries.
The CMA said in its decision that it would “actively monitor” the changes Google announced last month. “We expect to announce further actions related to Google’s search business in the coming weeks,” CMA CEO Sara Cardel said in a statement.
According to the CMA’s decision, Google must also allow publishers to control the use of their content to train AI services and must not retaliate against publishers who use that control.
Google has nine months to implement all changes imposed by the CMA.
Mrinalini Leve, general manager of Google’s search ecosystem, said in response that Google will immediately begin testing new changes that will allow “select website owners” in the UK to control how their links and content appear in the generated AI search feature, before rolling it out globally.
“We are also actively listening to feedback from publishers and creators, and working with regulators such as the UK Competition and Markets Authority to ensure website owners have the right tools as user preferences evolve,” Lowe said in a blog post.
The conduct requirements follow the CMA’s decision to designate Google to have a so-called strategic market position in its search and online advertising businesses, giving the watchdog powers to request information and implement changes. This designation does not mean that the company has engaged in anticompetitive conduct.
As part of this decision, Google must also publicly disclose how search content is used by generated AI, provide publishers with metrics about user engagement with content in generated AI features, and clarify the attribution of that content. – Bloomberg
