Alongside a possibly related announcement from Google comes a Google Search Publisher Conduct Requirement from the UK Competition and Markets Authority. Google’s strategic market status means it must now comply with new laws which include choice, transparency and attribution. Google is required to comply before the 3rd December 2026.
Update: 1st Sept. Following consultation the requirements have been refined. A useful summary of the requirements is available. Google has until 3 December 2026 to comply.
Update: 17th June. The UK CMA have also issued fair ranking conduct requirements. More below.
Here’s what you need to know about the new Google Search Publisher Conduct Requirement in the UK and how it could affect AI search data for publishers.
Control
Google must provide publishers with a way to control what data Google uses for training and grounding. There must be no penalties associated with opting out.
Transparency
Google must provide clear information relating to the controls, information on how content is used for training and grounding. Metrics must also be provided for search AI features and this includes impressions, clicks and click-through rates. Google must also provide referral data. [I assume, parameters that allow the end user know from which search product a click came.]
Attribution
Google must label publisher content used in generative AI search and a clear way for users to access the original source. Google must also publish content on how content is selected for attribution, how the accuracy is measured, how Google approaches factuality and a way for publishers to flag missing or incorrect attribution.
Other notes
The rules target the use of web-published content for use in search results and are, globally, unique.
- Directory and page-level opt-out controls are required.
- Google may not pay a third party to circumvent these rules.
- Google must deliver documentation explaining how publisher content is used and attributed.
- Google must deliver metrics.
- Any content that is shown to UK users is covered, even if it is hosted somewhere else.
- Stakeholders’ recommendations that Google use separate crawlers for AI data gathering was rejected
- Data should be made through a “commonly accessible platform, such as Google Search Console.”
In possibly related news, Google announced new controls and performance reports for AI.
This is a huge win for publishers in the UK and will be watched very closely by publishers and policy makers around the world.
I asked some media experts for their reactions to the news:
“Google is introducing AI citation data in search console, which is a clear reaction to the CMA’s conduct requirement. Notably absent from these AI search console reports is the clicks metric, which is part of every other performance report in search console. The absence of that data is quite telling.” – Barry Adams
“Whilst it is obviously encouraging to see the work we have supported the CMA in doing come to fruition, it can’t end here.
Publishers and SEOs need more than impression led data for AI surfaces and an ability to opt out of AIOs We need responsible actors and actions here to create a more sustainable ecosystem.
One that includes click data and gives publishers appropriate leverage. Not Google.” Harry Clarkson-Bennett
There are plenty of follow-up questions here and I look forward to hearing opinions by search marketers in the UK.
- Is the Google announcement of GEO data in Search Console related in any way?
- Will the data leak into reports that all SEOs can benefit from?
- Is it too late?
Update: An article from Digiday includes some journalist and pulisher feedback.
The CMA’s Fair Ranking Conduct Requirements
One very significant requirement pops out of the documentation immediately. Google has been told to ensure the following:
“transparency over how it ranks search results, and sufficient
notice of changes that could impact businesses” (Source PDF 2.1b)
According to the latest documentation, Google has until 3 December 2026 to comply with the Conduct Requirement.
