Separate your AI permissions from ordinary content distribution
Google must now give publishers real controls over how their content trains and grounds its AI. The rollout is phased through March 2027, and it only covers Google.
The CMA has imposed requirements giving publishers controls over Google’s use of their content for AI training and grounding, supported by attribution and engagement information, with a main compliance deadline of 3 December 2026.
What was actually imposed
Effective controls over AI training and grounding use of publisher content, plus attribution and engagement data.
On 3 June 2026, following Google’s designation as holding strategic market status in general search services, the CMA imposed the publisher conduct requirement on Google.
It requires Google to give publishers effective controls over the use of their search content for training, including fine-tuning, and grounding in its generative AI products, both inside and outside search.
Google must also publish clear, user-friendly information explaining how publisher content is used in its generative AI, provide detailed engagement metrics, and ensure proper attribution through clear links in AI generated results.
When it actually lands
Some changes are already live. The rest follows through December 2026 and March 2027.
The CMA’s implementation summary, published 4 August 2026, confirms some elements are already rolling out.
The main compliance deadline for publisher controls is 3 December 2026, with page-level grounding controls given additional time through March 2027.
This covers AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini and Vertex AI simultaneously, not one product in isolation.
Who this actually protects
This is not a general AI licensing regime for publishers everywhere.
The requirement flows specifically from Google’s strategic market status designation under the UK’s digital markets regime. It does not create equivalent rights against any other AI company using publisher content.
For publishers dealing with several AI platforms, this requirement covers exactly one of them, however large.
- Opt-out control over training and grounding use of your content.
- Attribution through proper clickable links in AI generated results.
- Engagement metrics showing how your content performs inside AI features.
- None of this extends automatically to any other AI provider.
What publishers should change in their contracts
A licence written before this requirement will not clearly address AI training and grounding use.
Specify AI permissions as their own clause in content and syndication agreements, distinct from ordinary reproduction or distribution rights.
Allocate responsibility for actually implementing the opt-out and attribution controls, since a platform partner or CMS provider may sit between the publisher and Google’s own settings.
Retain access to the engagement reporting Google is required to provide, and build a process for someone to actually review it.
What this does not give you
The requirement is about transparency and choice, not a licensing fee.
Nothing in the publisher conduct requirement obliges Google to pay for training or grounding use of content. It obliges Google to let publishers see and control that use.
Any commercial arrangement for payment still has to be negotiated on its own terms, using the visibility this requirement now provides as the starting point for that conversation.
Questions this raises
Six questions the publisher conduct requirement tends to prompt, answered directly.
What did the CMA actually require Google to do?
Following Google’s designation as holding strategic market status in general search on 3 June 2026, the CMA imposed a publisher conduct requirement obliging Google to give publishers effective controls over how their search content is used for AI training and grounding, across AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini and Vertex AI.
When does this actually take effect?
The CMA’s August 2026 implementation summary confirms some changes are already rolling out. The main publisher controls are due by December 2026, with page level grounding controls following by March 2027.
Does this apply to every AI company, or just Google?
Just Google’s designated search services, specifically. The requirement flows from Google’s own strategic market status designation. It does not create a general legal right against other AI companies using publisher content.
What controls does the requirement actually give publishers?
The ability to opt out of having their content used for AI training and grounding, clear attribution using proper links in AI generated results, and detailed metrics on how their content is engaged with inside AI features.
Should a publisher change its licensing agreements because of this?
Yes, it is worth specifying AI permissions separately from ordinary syndication or content licensing terms, since a licence written before this requirement may not clearly address AI training and grounding use at all.
Does the requirement guarantee publishers get paid for AI use of their content?
No. It guarantees control and transparency, opt-out ability, attribution and engagement data, not a payment mechanism. Any commercial terms for that use still have to be negotiated separately.
Sources
- Competition and Markets Authority, publisher conduct requirement implementation summary, published 4 August 2026.
- GOV.UK, Google search publisher conduct requirement.
Licensing or syndicating content into an AI-driven world?
Eliga provides embedded commercial and technology counsel to scaling businesses. We can help you separate AI permissions out of your existing licensing terms before a platform’s own settings do it for you.
This page is general information about commercial law and technology. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor-client relationship. Take specific advice on anything you are about to negotiate or sign.