Google is introducing a new control that lets website owners opt out of its AI-generated search features. According to a blog post published on Wednesday, the company will test a Search Console toggle that allows website owners to decide whether their pages can appear in and help power features such as AI Overviews and AI Mode.
The new control will first be available to a limited number of UK website owners before a broader global rollout. According to Google, sites that opt out will not receive impressions or traffic from its generative AI features. The company also said the setting will not be considered when ranking pages in traditional Search results.
Google is also adding new Search Console reports that will let website owners see which pages are appearing in AI-generated answers and where those impressions are occurring. The company said it plans to expand the available data over time as it gathers feedback on what publishers find most useful.
The change arrives more than three years after Google introduced AI Overviews and roughly a year after AI Mode launched. It also comes shortly after the company’s I/O 2026 keynote, where Google unveiled a more capable Search experience that can handle complex prompts and accept videos, images, files, and even Chrome tabs as inputs.
While reports of traditional search’s demise may have been premature, publisher frustration has continued to grow. Many publishers argue that their content helps power Google‘s AI search products while generating fewer referrals in return. In a recent TBPN interview, Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch said he encouraged his teams to assume search traffic would become less dependable and focus on increasing pageviews and revenue from other sources. He later clarified that he doesn’t expect search referrals to disappear, but believes they could account for only a small share of total traffic in the future.
Google says it is continuing to gather input from publishers and content creators while working with regulators, including the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority. The company said its goal is to give website owners better tools as search habits change, with the new opt-out setting and analytics features representing its latest efforts to address those concerns.
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