Google has announced a significant update for publishers and SEO professionals: websites will be able to choose to opt out of AI Search — that is, out of AI Overviews and AI Mode — without losing their presence in traditional search results.
An option many publishers have been waiting for since Google started integrating AI-generated answers directly at the top of search results.
How the Opt-Out Works
Google is introducing a dedicated toggle in Google Search Console. When enabled, the site is excluded from:
- AI Overviews — the boxes with AI-generated answers that appear above organic results
- AI Mode — the fully AI-based search mode
- AI Overviews in Google Discover
The key point: the opt-out doesn't touch classic organic results. The site keeps appearing normally on Google Search and in the standard Discover feed.
No Ranking Penalty
Google has explicitly stated that choosing to opt out of AI Search won't be used as a ranking signal. In other words, opting out doesn't hurt the site's organic ranking.
An important clarification, since many publishers feared that refusing to contribute to Google's AI could have consequences for their overall visibility.
New Data in Search Console
Alongside the opt-out, Google is also introducing new statistics specific to AI Search:
- Impressions generated by AI Overviews and AI Mode
- Which pages appear in AI answers
- Which countries the site is shown in within AI results
Data that was completely missing until now, making it impossible to understand how much traffic — or lost traffic — was coming from AI Search.
Why Google Is Doing This Now
The move isn't entirely spontaneous. As reported by TechCrunch, the announcement comes in response to UK regulatory requirements, which require Google to offer publishers an opt-out mechanism from content aggregation in AI Search.
The rollout is therefore starting in the UK with a limited group of publishers before expanding globally. A cautious strategy, but one that signals a clear direction: the right of sites to choose how their content is used by AI.
What This Means for SEO Professionals
This development opens up a concrete dilemma for website owners:
Staying in AI Search means being cited in AI answers — with potential visibility, but often without a direct click to the site. AI Overviews answer the user's question directly in the SERP, reducing the need to click on results.
Leaving AI Search means giving up that visibility, but potentially recovering direct traffic — because users who don't find the answer in AI will have to click on organic results.
The right choice depends on the type of site: for those who rely on informational traffic (blogs, guides, in-depth articles), AI Search is eroding visits. For those with transactional or service-based content, the situation is more nuanced.
With the new Search Console data finally available, it will be possible to measure the real impact of AI Search on your site — and make the opt-out decision in an informed way, not blindly.