Data last verified: 7 November 2026. Figures re-checked against their primary sources under the Whito rolling re-verification programme.
Finding
The CMA's publisher rules for Google's AI search come into force on 3 December 2026, page-level opt-out controls follow on 3 March 2027, and Google's first compliance report is due on 3 January 2027.
Source: Whito, whito.co.uk/research/google-ai-search-uk-timeline, 7 November 2026. Free to quote with a link to this page.
Last Updated on November 7, 2026
Google’s AI search in the UK is changing on a timetable, and most of the dates are already fixed. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK competition regulator, has set binding rules on how Google uses website content in AI Overviews and AI Mode. The main rules come into force on 3 December 2026. Page-level controls follow on 3 March 2027. Google’s first compliance report is due on 3 January 2027. Six months for the site, nine for the page: that is the shape of it.
Every date checked on 7 November 2026 against the CMA’s own documents on gov.uk and Google’s own announcements. Where we worked out a calendar date ourselves, the table says so. This page is updated as each date lands. First published 7 November 2026.
The short answers
Can I opt out of Google AI Overviews?
Yes, and you can do it today. Search Console has a setting that takes your whole site out of AI Overviews, AI Mode and AI Overviews in Discover. Google rolled it out to all websites worldwide on 31 August 2026. Google says sites that opt out get no traffic or impressions from those features, and that the setting is not used as a ranking signal for ordinary results. Opting out of a single page is not available yet. The CMA rules require it by 3 March 2027.
When will Search Console show AI data?
It already shows some. Since 31 August 2026, every website’s Search Console has had a report on how your pages appear in Google’s AI features. Google says it covers impressions, which pages appear and in which countries. It does not give clicks. From 3 December 2026, the CMA rules require Google to give website owners clear and detailed engagement figures. The CMA’s notes expect impressions, click-throughs and click-through rate, for each website, kept separate from ordinary search, through a tool such as Search Console. On 7 November 2026 Google had not said what will change in Search Console on that date.
Do these rules apply to my business, or only to newspapers?
They apply to you if you have a website. The CMA defines a publisher as “any party that makes content available on the web”. A plumber with a twelve-page site counts.
The timeline
Past dates are things that have happened. Future dates are deadlines set by the CMA or plans announced by Google. A plan is not a promise, and we mark the difference.
| Date | What changes | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 October 2025 | The CMA designates Google as having strategic market status in general search. This is the step that lets the CMA set rules for Google. | Done | CMA notice, 3 June 2026 |
| 28 January 2026 | The CMA consults on proposed rules for Google search, including the publisher rule. | Done | CMA consultation |
| 3 June 2026 | The CMA imposes the publisher rule. Google must let website owners keep their content out of AI search features and AI model fine-tuning, credit content with clear links, report engagement figures, and must not penalise anyone who opts out. | Done | CMA press release |
| 3 June 2026 | Google starts testing a Search Console setting to leave AI Overviews and AI Mode, plus an AI impressions report, with some UK websites. | Done | Google blog |
| 17 June 2026 | The CMA imposes two more rules: fair ranking (Google has 6 months) and data portability (3 months). | Done | CMA press release |
| 31 August 2026 | Google says the AI opt-out setting and the AI impressions report have rolled out to all websites worldwide. | Done | Google blog, updated 31 August 2026 |
| 23 September 2026 | The CMA consults again on search choice screens, now open to AI assistants that credit their sources. Comments closed on 9 October 2026. | Done | CMA press release. Our baseline: CMA search choice screen study, 30 September |
| 28 October 2026 | Google says it plans to bring ads in AI Mode to the UK in the fourth quarter of 2026. No start date given. | Planned | Google Ads blog. Our coverage: ads in AI Mode, 30 October |
| 2 November 2026 | Whito explains the older opt-out route: the nosnippet robots rule removes your ordinary search snippet as well as your AI appearances. | Explainer | Our coverage: the opt-out and your snippet, 2 November |
| 4 November 2026 | Google adds booking and quote links for home services inside AI Mode. United States only. Google has not said when, or whether, it reaches the UK. | US only | Search Engine Journal. Our coverage: AI Mode booking, 6 November |
| 3 December 2026 | The publisher rule comes into force: opt-out controls at site and directory level, clear links to sources, engagement figures for website owners, and no penalty for opting out. | Deadline | CMA notice: “six months after the date of this Notice”. Calendar date worked out by us. Our coverage: the 3 December data date, 4 November |
| About 17 December 2026 | Fair ranking deadline. Google must rank ordinary results on fair, objective terms and give notice of major changes. | Deadline | CMA press release, 17 June 2026: “6 months to implement”. Calendar date worked out by us. |
| By 31 December 2026 | End of the quarter in which Google plans UK ads in AI Mode. The CMA’s decision on search choice screens is also reported as due by the end of the year. | Planned | Google Ads blog, 28 October 2026. Choice screen timing as reported, not a date in a CMA document we opened. |
| 3 January 2027 | Google’s first compliance report to the CMA is due. It covers 3 June to 3 December 2026. | Deadline | CMA compliance reporting notice |
| 3 March 2027 | Page-level controls come into force. You will be able to keep a single page out of AI answers rather than a whole site or folder. | Deadline | CMA notice: “nine months after the date of this Notice”. Calendar date worked out by us. |
| 3 July 2027 | Second compliance report due, covering 4 December 2026 to 3 June 2027. | Deadline | CMA compliance reporting notice |
| 3 July 2028 | Third report due, covering 4 June 2027 to 3 June 2028. Reports then repeat every year. | Deadline | CMA compliance reporting notice |
| 10 October 2030 | The publisher rule runs until this date, unless Google’s designation is extended or ended. | End date | CMA notice |
Six months or nine? Why reports disagree
Some coverage says Google has nine months. Some says the deadline is 3 December. Both come from the same CMA notice of 3 June 2026.
- Six months, 3 December 2026. The notice says the rule “will come into force six months after the date of this Notice”. That covers the site-level and directory-level opt-out, the links, the engagement figures and the ban on penalties.
- Nine months, 3 March 2027. One part, the page-level control, gets three extra months. The CMA’s press release sums this up as nine months “to implement all changes”.
So the nine-month figure is the last deadline, not the first. If you read only that, you miss 3 December.
The two ways out of Google’s AI answers today
There are two different switches, and they do different things.
| Search Console AI setting | nosnippet robots rule | |
|---|---|---|
| What it removes | Your site from AI Overviews, AI Mode and AI Overviews in Discover | Your text snippet everywhere in Google, including ordinary results, plus AI Overviews and AI Mode |
| Ordinary search snippet | Kept. Google says the setting is not a ranking signal outside AI features | Lost for as long as the rule is on |
| How fine | Whole site (page level due by 3 March 2027) | Page by page, or a single block with data-nosnippet |
| Where you set it | Search Console settings | Your page code or server headers |
Neither switch stops the AI answer from appearing. It is built from someone else’s pages instead. We explain the snippet trade-off in the Google AI opt-out takes your ordinary search snippet with it.
What to do before 3 December
Start. Make sure you can log into Search Console yourself. If an old agency set it up, sort the access out now. Then write down one row of today’s numbers: Search Console impressions and clicks, enquiries, sales. You need a before figure to judge the after.
Build. Check your page code and server headers for nosnippet, max-snippet or X-Robots-Tag rules nobody meant to set. Then decide, in one line, whether you want to be in Google’s AI answers or out, and why. Decide it now, not on the day.
Scale. When the new figures arrive, compare them with your baseline before you change anything. If you run Google Ads, check your product feed prices and stock, because ads are planned for AI Mode in the UK this quarter.
Updates
7 November 2026. Hub published. Every date checked against the CMA and Google sources linked above.
3 December 2026. The publisher rule comes into force. We will add what Search Console shows on the day.
Earlier entries are not rewritten. New facts are added with their date.
Method and limits
- Sources. The CMA notice, interpretative notes and compliance reporting notice of 3 June 2026, the CMA press releases of 3 June, 17 June and 23 September 2026, and Google’s blog posts of 3 June (updated 31 August) and 28 October 2026. All opened on 7 November 2026.
- Worked-out dates. The CMA notice gives periods, not calendar dates. 3 December 2026 and 3 March 2027 are six and nine months after the notice date of 3 June 2026. About 17 December 2026 is six months after 17 June 2026. The reporting dates are printed in the CMA’s reporting notice.
- Plans are not promises. Google’s UK ads date is a plan for the quarter. The choice screen decision date is as reported, not stated in a CMA document we opened.
- Not legal advice. This page explains what the documents say. It does not tell you whether to opt out.
Cite this research
Whito, “Google AI search in the UK: what changes and when”, whito.co.uk, first published 7 November 2026. Free to quote with a link to this page.
Common questions
What happens on 3 December 2026?
The CMA’s publisher rule comes into force. Google must let website owners keep their content out of AI Overviews and AI Mode at site and directory level, credit content with clear links, give website owners engagement figures for AI features, and not penalise anyone who opts out.
Does Google have six months or nine months to comply?
Both. The main rule starts six months after the CMA’s notice of 3 June 2026, which is 3 December 2026. Page-level controls start nine months after it, which is 3 March 2027.
Will opting out of AI Overviews hurt my Google rankings?
Google says its Search Console setting is not used as a ranking signal outside its AI features, and the CMA rule bans Google from penalising sites that opt out. The older nosnippet route is different: it removes your ordinary search snippet too.
Can I opt out of one page only?
Not with the Search Console setting yet. It works for a whole site. The CMA rule requires page-level controls from 3 March 2027.
When is Google’s first report to the CMA due?
3 January 2027. It covers 3 June to 3 December 2026. The next is due on 3 July 2027, then every year.
When do ads appear in AI Mode in the UK?
Google said on 28 October 2026 that it plans to bring them to the UK in the fourth quarter of 2026. It gave no exact date, so by 31 December 2026 at the latest if the plan holds.
- Google Owes You Its AI Search Numbers on 3 December
- The Google AI Opt-Out Takes Your Ordinary Search Snippet With It
- Google Puts Ads Inside AI Mode in the UK This Quarter
- Google Now Books Tradespeople Inside Search
- CMA Search Choice Screen: 156 AI Recommendations, 6 Links to the Firm’s Own Site
- UK AI Search and Trust Statistics 2026
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