Google rejected giving publishers more choice to opt out of AI Search

a year ago

Google didn’t want to give publishers the choice to keep their content out of AI Search results, calling it a space for monetization.
An internal document revealed Google considered but rejected offering publishers more control over AI Search data usage.
Google chose to silently update publisher controls without public announcement, making it harder for publishers to understand opt-out options.
Publishers can only avoid AI Overviews by opting out of Googlebot crawling, which removes their site from Search entirely.
Google claims the document was an early list of options and doesn’t reflect final decisions, emphasizing existing publisher controls and benefits of AI in driving traffic.

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