The Financial Times has become the latest major news publisher to join Google's expanding roster of AI-related partnerships, as the tech giant pledges to pursue "more focused deals" with media outlets amid ongoing feedback from the industry. Sulina Connal, Google's managing director leading news and books partnerships in Europe, outlined these commitments during a speech at the FT Strategies News in the Digital Age conference in London on Wednesday, 11 February.
Google's first wave of AI deals with news providers, announced in December, reportedly include cash payments to publishers along with "extended display rights and content delivery methods like APIs." Prior to the Financial Times signing on, The Guardian and The Washington Post were among the publications already enrolled in this initiative, signaling a growing collaboration between Big Tech and traditional media on AI content usage.
In response to publisher concerns, Google is "exploring updates" that would enable news outlets to opt out of having their content featured in AI Overviews without impacting their visibility in standard search results. This move comes directly on the heels of pressure from regulators, highlighting tensions over content control in the AI era.
Last month, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced plans to compel Google to implement such opt-out mechanisms. Google responded on the same day, stating it was already examining the issue. The CMA further demanded that Google provide publishers with "clear and detailed metrics" on user engagement with their content in AI Overviews, including clickthrough rates.
Addressing editorial and product leaders at the London conference, Connal emphasized Google's attentiveness to industry feedback. "We’ve heard the need for more controls and we’ve heard that pretty consistently, controls on how news content appears on search, and we have a set of proposals from the authority in the UK," she said.
Connal detailed the technical challenges involved, noting that "because AI is integral to how search works, implementing the new controls is a complex engineering, huge engineering project." She assured attendees that Google remains "highly intentional in our approach," aiming to deliver "simple, scalable tools that you can use to manage your content."
These developments underscore Google's efforts to balance innovation with publisher partnerships, as it navigates regulatory scrutiny and builds on its December AI payment framework to foster more tailored agreements with news organizations across Europe.
