Google now lets sites opt out of AI Overviews without leaving Search. Would you?

[NiceNIC Team]

Google's new Search Console control lets a website stay in regular Search while being excluded from AI Overviews and AI Mode.

For a site that depends on organic traffic, would you leave the default on or test opting out?

 

[Nemanja]

Best answer

I would leave it on for now, mostly because the data to make the call does not exist yet. The generative AI report in Search Console shows impressions only, no clicks and no position, so you can see where you appear in AI answers but not what appearing is worth. Opting out and watching organic afterwards is the only measurement available, and by then the change is already made.

One thing to watch if you do flip it: the setting is per property, and child properties inherit from the parent unless you set them individually. Anyone running a domain property plus a few URL prefix properties can exclude more than they meant to. It also has nothing to do with model training, that is still Google-Extended.

 

[NiceNIC Team]

NiceNIC Team

Thanks, Nemanja. That inheritance detail is easy to miss. Someone could think they’re testing one property and end up switching off more than they meant to.

 

[contesthelper89]

I would keep the default setting and observe the effect before opting out. It may help in gaining more visibility, although it has to be seen how it affects the organic traffic. A pilot experiment will make it clear whether opting out will improve the click-through rate.

 

[Jyoti_shekhawati]

When it comes to our institute website, I will not opt out from AI Overviews at all. The local intent searches for tour services are precisely where AI Overviews provide local options, and by opting out we lose the shelf space altogether.

At the same time, the opting out process is delivered without adequate click attribution data, so it is impossible to assess the impact of any choice. Had our site been subscription/paying-based, I would think differently.

 

[NiceNIC Team]

NiceNIC Team

Appreciate the insight, Jyoti. For a local school, getting cited is great, but having the facts straight is just as critical. If a summary gives people the wrong campus address or lists courses that were phased out last year, it just creates a mess before they even make it to your actual homepage.

Have you had a chance to test a few prompts to see if these models are actually describing your programs accurately? Also curious if any new applicants have brought up specific details they pulled from an AI answer when reaching out.