Giving news websites the power to block their content from being used in AI summaries will have global ramifications

The UK’s competition watchdog has ordered Google to change how it uses publishers’ content in its AI-powered search results, in a move that will have global ramifications.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is using powers that allow it to set bespoke rules for major tech firms that it deems to have “strategic market status”. Google, the world’s largest search engine, is one of those companies.

Watchdog makes ruling on search summaries after publishers complain about drop in click-through traffic and revenue

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Online publishers and news organisations are now able to block their content from appearing in Google’s AI summaries in UK search results, the British competition watchdog has announced.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the new requirement would “put publishers, like news organisations, in a stronger position to negotiate content deals with Google”.