Google AI Overviews Opt-Out: What the CMA Ruling Means for Small Business Sites
On 3 June 2026 the Competition and Markets Authority imposed a conduct requirement on Google that gives publishers tools to stop their content being used to power AI features in search, such as AI Overviews. Google has nine months to put all of it in place, which points to early March 2027, though the CMA says it expects key controls to reach publishers sooner. For a small business site the short answer is this: the opt-out is aimed mainly at news and content publishers, and for most local firms the better move is to make sure AI answers describe you accurately rather than to remove yourself from them.
What the CMA actually required
The CMA's announcement sets out three main things:
- Effective opt-out tools so publishers can prevent their content being used for AI features in Google search.
- Fine-tuning: after consultation, the requirement was widened so publishers can also opt out of their content being used to fine-tune AI models.
- Attribution: where publisher content is used in AI-generated search results, Google must attribute it properly, with clear links.
Google also has to publish compliance reports every six months for the first year. The CMA describes this as part of its wider work on Google's search business under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, and has said further measures may follow if needed.
What you can already control today
While the new tools are being built, Google's existing controls still apply. Its documentation on AI features in Search says site owners can limit what is shown using nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet or noindex. The catch is that these are blunt. A nosnippet tag also removes the text snippet under your ordinary blue link, and noindex takes the page out of search altogether. For a business that depends on being found, that is usually a bad trade.
The same page notes there are no extra technical requirements to appear as a supporting link in AI Overviews or AI Mode: a page needs to be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet. Google also says inclusion is never guaranteed.
Should a small business opt out?
The argument for opting out is strongest when your content is the product. A recipe site, a niche hobby guide or a local news page earns its living from people reading the page itself. If an AI summary answers the question and nobody clicks, the publisher loses the visit and the advertising or subscription revenue that comes with it.
A plumber, florist or accountant is in a different position. Your pages exist to win enquiries. If someone asks Google which local florists deliver on Sundays and an AI answer mentions you with a link, that is good marketing even if the person never reads your blog. Opting out could make it more likely that the answer names a competitor instead.
There is a middle case: firms that publish detailed advice articles to attract visitors, such as a solicitor's guides to tenancy law or an installer's explainers on heat pumps. Here the honest answer is "watch your numbers". If advice pages lose most of their clicks but enquiries hold steady, the AI summary may be doing your awareness work for you. If enquiries drop as well, a selective opt-out on specific guide directories might be worth testing once Google's new controls arrive, since the CMA's requirement is designed to work without removing you from normal search.
Making AI answers describe you correctly
Whatever you decide about opting out, the bigger risk for most small firms is being described wrongly or vaguely. AI answers draw on what is published about you, so the fixes are the familiar ones, done thoroughly:
- Say plainly what you do and where. Your home page should state your service, your town or area and who you help in the first couple of sentences. Clever taglines leave room for guesswork.
- Keep your details consistent. Name, address, phone number and opening hours should match across your site, Google Business Profile and directories. We covered this in local SEO basics for small businesses.
- Answer real questions on real pages. Prices from, areas covered, lead times, what is included. A dedicated page for each main service gives search systems something specific to cite.
- Keep facts current. An old price list or a service you no longer offer is exactly the sort of detail that ends up repeated in a summary.
How to tell whether AI features are costing you
Look at Search Console rather than guessing. Compare impressions and clicks for your main pages over the same months this year and last. Rising impressions with falling clicks on informational pages is the classic pattern when a summary answers the query. Then compare that with what actually matters: calls, form enquiries and bookings. If you track enquiries by source, even in a simple spreadsheet, you will be in a much better position to decide what to do when the opt-out controls appear.
Google Analytics now has a separate channel for some AI assistant traffic, which helps with the picture outside Google; we explain its limits in our piece on the GA4 AI Assistant channel.
What to put in the diary
Expect Google to announce the new publisher controls before the nine-month deadline, which falls in early March 2027. When it does, read the detail before acting: check whether the control works per page or per folder, and whether it affects anything beyond AI features. Until then, keep improving the pages that win you work, and keep a note of your enquiry numbers so that any decision is based on evidence rather than headlines.