Google Updates Search Sharing Guide With AI Controls
Google has revised its guide to help site owners manage search previews and AI features. The update provides more options for controlling search results.
Original reporting · searchenginewatch.com
Original: “Google adds existing AI and snippet controls to its Search sharing guide”
Read “Google adds existing AI and snippet controls to its Search sharing guide” at Search Engine Watch →
How this was written. Content Catalyst wrote this article with a language model from Search Engine Watch’s reporting (model: @cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast); it describes that reporting rather than adding to it. The original, linked above, is the full story.
Key points from Search Engine Watch’s report
- Google has updated its Search sharing guide to include AI controls and additional search preview restrictions.
- Site owners can exclude their content from certain AI features, but this will not affect their ranking or inclusion in other parts of Search.
- Changes to AI controls can take several days to take effect due to caching and system propagation.
- Site owners who opt out of AI features will miss out on impressions and traffic from these features.
- Page-level restrictions can be used to restrict AI use while retaining ordinary search visibility.
Google has made changes to its Search sharing guide, according to Search Engine Watch. The guide now includes existing AI controls and additional ways to restrict search previews.
The update, which was made on October 21, brings new options for site owners to manage their search results. This includes controls for indexing and removing content from search results.
The AI control, which is available in Search Console, allows site owners to exclude their content from certain AI features. This includes AI Overviews, AI Mode, and generative features in Discover.
Site owners who choose to exclude their content from these features will not be eligible to appear in them. However, this will not affect their ranking or inclusion in other parts of Search.
Google notes that changes to AI controls can take several days to take effect. This is due to caching and the time it takes for changes to propagate across Google's systems.
Site owners who opt out of AI features will miss out on impressions and traffic from these features. However, they can still control AI training through Google-Extended.
The guide also provides information on page-level restrictions, which can be used to restrict AI use while retaining ordinary search visibility. This can be done through robots settings and snippet rules.
Questions and answers
What is the purpose of the AI control in Search Console?
The AI control allows site owners to exclude their content from certain AI features, including AI Overviews and AI Mode.
How long does it take for changes to AI controls to take effect?
Changes to AI controls can take several days to take effect due to caching and system propagation.
What happens to site owners who opt out of AI features?
Site owners who opt out of AI features will miss out on impressions and traffic from these features, but their ranking and inclusion in other parts of Search will not be affected.
