In January 2026, Google responded to the UK Competition and Markets Authority's consultation on how websites can control their content's use in AI-powered Search features. The company highlighted existing and evolving control mechanisms, such as robots.txt, including new ones for managing AI Overviews and training data usage for Gemini models.
Google expressed the need to balance user experience — ensuring helpful and innovative Search results — with giving website owners scalable, simple tools to manage their content's use in AI. The dialogue remains ongoing, aiming to establish controls that avoid fragmenting Search while empowering content creators.
Source & further reading
Our approach to website controls for Search AI features ↗Source published 2026-01-28. This report was prepared with AI assistance from the linked primary-source material. Claims and limitations should be checked against the original announcement or research.