Google Tests AI Search Data; UK Mandates Opt-Out Option

Welcome to this week’s Pulse: key shifts in how you track AI search visibility, whether you can opt out of it, and how the recently completed core update has reshaped rankings. Here’s what you need to know for your work.

Google Adds AI Search Controls and Reports to Search Console

Google is now testing two new Search Console features focused on AI search visibility. A toggle lets you control whether your site appears in AI Overviews and AI Mode. Dedicated performance reports show how your URLs perform in AI features across Search and Discover.

Key facts: The reports cover impressions, pages, countries, devices, and dates with hourly granularity. Click data is not included. Google says it is working with website owners to decide which metrics to add next. Both features are rolling out to a subset of UK websites first.

Why This Matters

Until now, AI-driven visibility was lumped into standard Search Console data with no way to isolate it. The new reports give you a dedicated view of which pages appeared inside AI answers and in which countries.

Impressions tell you how often your pages appeared, but not whether anyone clicked through. That gap has been the central question in AI search measurement for over a year. This launch does not close it yet.

What SEO Professionals Are Saying

In a LinkedIn post, Glenn Gabe, President of G-Squared Interactive, wrote: “AI reporting coming to GSC! Awesome! No click data. NOT Awesome.”

Read our full coverage: Google Tests Dedicated AI Search Reports in Search Console

UK Regulator Requires Google to Let Publishers Opt Out of AI Search

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has imposed a conduct requirement on Google under its digital markets regime. Publishers will be able to opt out of having their content used in AI search features.

Key facts: Google must let websites opt out of AI Overviews and AI Mode. Opting out will not hurt their position in regular search results. Google must also let publishers opt out of content being used to train AI models. They have nine months to comply.

Why This Matters

This is the first time a regulator has required the separation of AI-feature participation from standard search indexing. Publishers have wanted this since AI Overviews launched. The only previous option also removed them from standard snippets.

Publishers in the UK now have a regulatory backstop for controls that Google is providing voluntarily elsewhere. The CMA says it will announce further action on Google’s search business in the coming weeks.

What Search Industry Professionals Are Saying

In a LinkedIn post, Stuart Forrest, formerly Global SEO Director for Publishing at Bauer Media, wrote: “The CMA has announced a win for publishers on AI search but this is a win for Google.”

Todd Davies, Competition Law PhD Candidate at University College London, wrote: “In my view, the ability to opt-out is little more than a consolation prize for publishers.”

Read our full coverage: Google Must Let Websites Opt Out of AI Search Features in UK

Google’s May 2026 Core Update Complete After Volatile Rollout

Google’s May core update finished rolling out on June 2, lasting 11 days.

Key facts: Third-party tracking tools showed elevated volatility at several points during the rollout. Google’s guidance suggests waiting at least a week after a major update finishes before analyzing data.

Why This Matters

The update is the fourth confirmed entry on Google’s Search Status Dashboard this year. That is roughly one confirmed ranking-related event every six weeks so far.

Some practitioners reported regaining traditional rankings while losing visibility in AI-generated responses from the same update. That split means checking both surfaces, not just organic positions.

What SEO Professionals Are Saying

In a LinkedIn post, Aleyda Solís, SEO Consultant and Founder of Orainti, posted: “Source type fit mattered more than authority alone.”

Danielle Pardoe, AI Marketing and eCommerce Specialist, Founder of Infinity1 and TradieM8, commented: “We’ve seen clients recover traditional rankings but still lose AI answer placements from the same update.”

Read our full coverage: Google’s May Core Update Complete After Volatile Rollout

Google Launches Search Profiles for Creators

Google launched Search Profiles, a customizable page that pulls together a creator’s YouTube channels, social accounts, and links in one place on Google Search.

Key facts: Creators need at least 100,000 followers on YouTube, Instagram, or X to be eligible. TikTok requires 300,000. Search Profiles are currently available only in the United States. Claiming a profile can trigger the creation of a knowledge panel or enhance an existing one.

Why This Matters

The profile also serves to connect people with more content from the websites they follow. When you follow a publisher through their profile, you may see more of their content in Discover.

The 100,000-follower minimum leaves out most independent creators and small publishers. That threshold limits the feature to established accounts, at least at launch.

Read our full coverage: Google Launches Search Profiles for Creators With 100K Followers

Theme of the Week: AI Search Visibility Starts Getting Infrastructure

For over a year, two questions have defined AI search for publishers. How do you know if you are in it, and can you control whether you are?

This week delivered answers from two directions. Google began rolling out dedicated AI performance reports and testing an opt-out toggle in Search Console. The UK imposed a legal obligation on Google. Between them, the infrastructure for managing your AI search presence started moving from idea to reality, even if the tools are still limited in scope.

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