Google Trains AI on Publisher Content Despite Opt-Outs

Google has admitted in court that it continues to use content from publishers to train its search-specific AI products, such as AI Overviews, even if those publishers have opted out of AI training for Google DeepMind. The opt-out controls provided to publishers only apply to DeepMind, Google's AI research division, but do not extend to other areas of the company, meaning the search division can still use the content. This practice was confirmed by DeepMind Vice President Eli Collins during an antitrust trial, prompting concerns about content ownership and the effectiveness of opt-out mechanisms. As a result, publishers who wish to fully prevent their content from being used for AI in search must opt out of search indexing altogether, which would significantly reduce their visibility on Google. The revelation has fueled debate about the rights of content creators and the competitive impact of Google's AI-powered search features, which display AI-generated answers using publisher content without necessarily directing users to the original sources. These issues have emerged as part of the ongoing antitrust proceedings aimed at addressing Google's dominance in the search market.