Google has just done something website owners have been asking for for a long time: it has given them clearer control over whether and how their content is used in AI-generated answers in Search. On August 31, the company confirmed that the new settings and data for AI Overviews and AI Mode had been rolled out globally.

What exactly did Google change?

The most important new feature is a switch in Google Search Console that lets website owners decide whether their site should appear in generative search features such as AI Overviews, AI Mode and AI Overviews in Discover. Google had been testing the feature since June with a limited group of website owners in the UK. An update to the official announcement dated August 31 confirms that the option is now available to websites worldwide.

If a website owner opts out, the site will no longer appear as a source in those generative features and will not receive impressions or traffic from them. Google also says that this decision is not intended to be a ranking signal for regular search results outside the generative features.

Search Console is also getting AI visibility data

The second important change concerns measurement. Google has started giving website owners new information about how their content appears in AI-generated answers. The data includes impressions, pages appearing in answers and the countries where particular content was used.

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That matters because until now AI Search has been something of a black box for many website owners. They knew content could appear in an AI Overview or AI Mode, but it was much harder to assess exactly where, how often and whether it actually translated into traffic.

This is no longer an experiment

Google says AI Overviews now has more than 2.5 billion monthly active users, while AI Mode has passed 1 billion monthly users. These figures are published by Google itself, so they are vendor data rather than an independent measurement of the market. Even so, they make one thing clear: the generative layer of Search is no longer a side experiment for a small group of users.

For a website owner, that means something simple: the question “does my website appear in AI Search?” is no longer a curiosity for the SEO department. It is becoming a normal question about brand visibility in Google.

You do not need to invent separate SEO for AI

In its official documentation, Google continues to stress that appearing in AI Overviews and AI Mode does not require any special file, additional markup or separate schema created only for AI. A website primarily needs to meet the normal requirements of Google Search, be indexable, make its content accessible to Googlebot and provide useful material for users.

Google also points to things that sound much less impressive than terms such as “GEO” or “AEO”, but are practical: sensible internal linking, good site quality, content available in text form, high-quality images and video, structured data that matches what users actually see, and up-to-date information in Merchant Center and the Business Profile.

In most cases, there is little sense in doing it reflexively. Opting out means giving up visibility and potential traffic from generative features. It only makes sense when a website owner consciously decides that the benefits of appearing in AI Search are outweighed by the costs or drawbacks.

The more interesting part is that the decision can now be based on data. First check whether the site actually appears in AI Search, which pages appear and in which markets, and only then decide what to do next. That is a little more sensible than the classic internet approach of “block everything because AI” or “open everything because AI”.

WebsiteGarage’s take

The most interesting part is not even that Google added another submenu to Search Console. What matters more is that website owners are finally getting two things at once: a choice and data. Until now, discussions about AI Search often felt like talking about the weather on Mars. Everyone had an opinion, but very few people could see their own numbers. If Search Console really starts showing where a company’s content appears in AI answers, we can finally stop guessing and start evaluating this channel like any other: does it bring visibility, traffic and relevant users?

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