google said The company’s search engine could fail if it is forced to implement strict new controls to protect and nurture web content in the AI era.
The warning comes after Britain’s antitrust regulator proposed new rules for Google Search that would give publishers more control over how their content is used in Google’s AI features such as AI Overview and AI Mode.
In response, Google said it is working on new ways to serve websites. Give you more control over how your AI chatbots and AI-powered answer engines access and use your online content. The company is facing increasing pressure to give content owners a way to opt out of having their data crawled by AI, while still allowing traditional search engines to index this valuable data.
Google said in a blog post Wednesday that it is “currently considering updates to controls that would allow sites to specifically opt out of search-generated AI features.”
This is a major concession from Google, which has quietly but adamantly resisted such demands.
But the tech giant also warned that tough new regulations could threaten its valuable search engine, which generates most of its profits.
“New controls must avoid disrupting search in a way that leaves people’s experiences fragmented and confusing,” the company said, arguing that search and AI are now deeply intertwined.
Google says AI has been at the core of how search works for more than a decade, helping it rank results and show relevant links. Google has suggested that creating clear opt-outs for generative AI features could undermine the fundamental mechanisms that enable people to quickly find information and discover websites at scale.
At issue is a deeper question: what search should look like in the age of AI. Publishers have increasingly argued that AI summaries replace content rather than guide users through it, undermining the great deal that has underpinned the web for decades. Google counters that drawing a hard line between search and AI risks unintended consequences, such as lower results and a worse user experience.
Cloudflare chief executive Matthew Prince said the UK proposals were “progress” but not enough. His company helps run about 20% of the web and is driving new standards to level the playing field in AI.
“Today’s CMA recommendation is not sufficient because it does not force Google to separate its search crawl from its AI crawl,” Prince told Business Insider, referring to the UK Competition and Markets Authority. “Instead, we all need to trust that Google is not the bad guy when it builds an unauditable black AI box.”
“If the CMA wants to foster innovation and competition in the AI space, the best thing they can do is force Google to play by the same rules as other companies and separate crawls for AI and crawls for search,” he added. “Every company other than Google will support this because it fosters a healthy market. That’s right, and it’s a shame the CMA didn’t take more action today.”
The CMA consultation will run until February 25th. Whether regulators can tighten the rules without destroying search, as Google has warned, may help determine not just Google’s future in the UK, but the shape of the open web itself.
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