The CMA is currently consulting on the future of Google’s use of AI search results. 

The framework of the consultation poses a rather obvious elephant in the room that marketers seem to have overlooked. 

If the search query begins and ends on Google with an AI answer, the publisher does not receive any reward for their content, or credit. 

Google maintains its dominance and the publisher is discredited.

 

Section 2.8 of the live consultation states: 

 

Historically, the resulting clicks and links back to websites from Google Search have given publishers value in return. However, as Google has rolled out generative AI features, such as AI Overviews and AI Mode, this balance has shifted. Publishers are now faced with a decline in referrals back to their websites, and limited visibility as to how their content is being used in these novel systems.

Think about that. You as a publisher (website, retailer, service or business) are creating content and the sole beneficiary is Google. You no longer gain a click to your website or increase the volume of traffic. Instead the house wins as usual.

Thankfully, this has not gone unnoticed by the  Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as it seeks to redress the balance between Google and uncredited publishers. 

The CMA is consulting on measures to improve ‘fair ranking’ which addresses 3 core issues:

 

Publishers choice: Currently, publishers (and advertisers) have no control over what content Google uses in its AI generated materials. 

 

Publishers transparency: Publishers have no visibility or transparency over how or where their content is used, making it harder for publishers to make an informed decision over how or where their content is used. 

 

Publisher attribution: once the content is used, the credit or attribution is not given to the publisher, instead the AI generative search responses keep the users firmly in the Google eco-system. The publisher does not earn a single click back to their original source.  

 

I personally LOVE the CMA’s proposed response to this issue. It made my day and the end is nigh for the awful AI generated assets being created without knowledge or permission for publishers and advertisers. Here it is: 

 

(a) ensure publishers have a meaningful and effective control over whether their content is used in the grounding of content within search generative AI features (such as AI Overviews); 

 

(b) clarify the scope of the existing Google-Extended control which publishers can use to opt out of their content being used in generative AI models outside of search; 

 

(c) provide greater transparency over how publishers’ content is used to create Google’s AI-generated responses, and on how users interact with search generative AI features; and 

 

(d) take reasonable steps to ensure the effective attribution of publisher content in its search generative AI features and explain the steps it takes to achieve this. 

 

The consultation is open until 5pm on the 25th of February and the link to have your say on this issue is here 

 

https://connect.cma.gov.uk/google-search-conduct-requirements

 

You may want to cool your jets on shifting to AI response based SEO, there could be more to come.