Google AI Overviews now answer many searches right on the results page, and that can mean fewer clicks to your site. Google has added a control in Search Console that lets you keep your content out of AI Overviews, AI Mode, and generative AI in Discover, without removing your pages from normal Search. This guide explains exactly what the control does, how to opt out step by step, what opting out does not do, and how to decide whether leaving these features is the right call for your site.
What the Search Console AI control does
The setting is called Search generative AI, and it lives under Settings in Search Console. It gives each property a simple choice: include your links and content in Google’s generative AI features, or exclude them. There is also an option to inherit the setting from a parent property, which is the default for most sites.
Include is the default. With it, your content can appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode, show up as cited links, and help ground the AI answers, and your site can earn impressions and traffic from those features. Exclude does the opposite: your content is held back from these AI features, it will not be cited or linked inside them, and you receive no impressions or traffic from them.
One point matters most here. The control is site wide for now, so it applies to your whole property rather than a single page. Google has said finer page level controls are planned for a later release, but today the choice covers everything under the property.
Should you opt out of AI Overviews?
For most publishers, the honest answer is no, and it helps to understand the trade before you touch the setting. Opting out does not hide your content from AI Overviews while still sending you clicks from them. It is all or nothing: you leave the AI features entirely, which means zero traffic and zero impressions from AI Overviews, AI Mode, and AI Overviews in Discover.
If your goal is to protect ad revenue or affiliate clicks, opting out can backfire. Users who would have clicked your cited link inside an AI Overview now never see you there at all. You do not claw back a normal blue link result by leaving; you simply remove one more place your brand could appear.
Opting out tends to make sense only in specific cases, such as a site that does not want its content summarized for policy or brand reasons, or a property that earns nothing from search and prefers to stay out of AI answers on principle. For a content site chasing AdSense or affiliate income, staying included is usually the safer choice.
How to opt out of AI Overviews using Search Console
If you have weighed the trade and still want to leave, the process takes under a minute. Follow these steps.
- Open Search Console and select the property you want to change from the property picker at the top left.
- Go to Settings in the left menu, near the bottom of the sidebar.
- Open Search generative AI from the settings list.
- Uncheck Inherit control if it is ticked, so you can set this property directly rather than following the parent.
- Choose Exclude my site’s links and content from Search generative AI features.
- Click Save. The change applies to the whole property.
After you save, the change is not instant. Google processes it over a few days, and once processed your content usually drops out of the AI features within a day or two. If you change your mind, return to the same screen, pick Include or re enable Inherit control, and save again.
If you do not see the Search generative AI option yet, that is normal. Google is rolling this control out to a subset of site owners first, so it may not appear on your property until a wider release reaches you.
What opting out does NOT do
This is where many site owners get confused, so it is worth being precise about the limits of the control.
It does not change your normal rankings. Google has stated the setting is not used as a ranking or inclusion signal for the rest of Search, so leaving the AI features will not push your pages up or down in the standard blue link results, and it will not remove you from the normal Discover feed.
It also does not control AI training. Whether Google can use your content to train its AI models is a separate matter, governed by the Google Extended crawler token that publishers set in robots rules. Flipping the Search Console control to exclude changes your visibility in AI Overviews and AI Mode, but it does not, on its own, opt your content out of model training.
Finally, it does not give you page level choice yet. You cannot keep one section in the AI features while excluding another, since the control currently applies to the entire property.
When opting out makes sense, and when it does not
A short framework helps you decide with a clear head rather than reacting to the fear that AI Overviews are stealing every click.
Staying included is usually right when your site earns from search traffic, when brand visibility matters, or when you want the chance to be cited and linked inside AI answers. In these cases the AI features are another surface where your name can appear, and leaving removes that chance entirely.
Opting out can be reasonable when you have a strong non search reason, such as a policy that forbids AI summarization of your material, a members only or premium model where free AI answers undercut your value, or a brand decision to sit out generative results. Even then, weigh it carefully, because the traffic you give up does not come back through the normal results. When you are unsure, the lower risk move is to stay included, keep watching your data, and revisit the decision as Google refines these controls. For a broader plan that does not depend on any single Google feature, see our guide on how to build blog authority.
Better alternatives to a full opt out
Before you exclude your whole site, consider steps that protect your interests without cutting off a traffic source.
Focus on content that earns the click. Depth, original data, tools, and strong opinions give readers a reason to visit even after they read an AI summary, since a short answer rarely satisfies a genuinely interested user. Keep your titles and opening lines compelling so the cited link is worth following.
Watch your own numbers rather than the general panic. Use the Search Console performance data to see how AI features actually affect your clicks, so your decisions rest on your real results instead of headlines. If you care about model training specifically, address that through the Google Extended token rather than the AI features control, since the two settings solve different problems.
Verdict
The Search generative AI control is a useful piece of transparency, but for most publishers it is a setting to understand rather than switch. Excluding your site removes it from AI Overviews, AI Mode, and AI Overviews in Discover, which also removes any traffic and visibility those features could send you, and it does nothing to lift your normal rankings.
Leave the control on Include unless you have a clear, non search reason to step out, use the Google Extended token for training concerns, and put your energy into content strong enough that readers click through even when an AI summary appears. That approach protects your traffic today while keeping your options open as Google adds the page level controls it has promised.
Frequently asked questions
Does opting out of AI Overviews hurt my normal Google rankings?
No. Google has said the Search generative AI control is not used as a ranking or inclusion signal for the rest of Search. Excluding your site removes it from AI Overviews, AI Mode, and AI Overviews in Discover, but your pages keep appearing in the standard results and the normal Discover feed exactly as before. The setting only affects the generative AI surfaces, not your ordinary rankings.
Where is the Search generative AI setting in Search Console?
Open your property in Search Console, click Settings in the left sidebar, then open Search generative AI. There you can choose to include or exclude your site, or inherit the setting from a parent property. If you do not see the option, Google is still rolling it out to a subset of owners, so it may not have reached your property yet.
Does this control stop Google from training AI on my content?
No. Whether Google can use your content for AI model training is controlled separately through the Google Extended crawler token in your robots rules. The Search Console control only decides whether your site appears in AI Overviews and AI Mode. To manage training, set the Google Extended token, and to manage visibility in the AI features, use the Search generative AI control.
Can I opt out of AI Overviews for just one page?
Not yet. The Search generative AI control currently works at the property level, so it applies to your whole site rather than a single page. Google has said finer controls that target specific pages are planned for a later release, but for now the choice to include or exclude covers everything under the property.
How long does it take for the change to apply?
After you save the setting, Google processes the change over a few days, and once processed your content usually drops out of the AI features within a day or two. The same applies in reverse if you switch back to Include, so plan for a short delay rather than an instant switch either way.