What the UK CMA AI search metrics deadline means for your website

What the UK CMA is requiring

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has set a Publisher Conduct Requirement for Google’s general search services in the UK. One part of that requirement is about transparency. Google must give publishers clear and detailed metrics on how people engage with their content inside search generative AI features, such as AI Overviews and AI Mode.

According to the CMA’s own summary materials, those metrics should cover impressions, clicks and click-through rate, aggregated across those AI features. The rules also expect publishers to be able to tell whether traffic came from an AI feature or from ordinary search results. Google has until 3 December 2026 to comply. A readable overview sits on GOV.UK’s Google search publisher conduct requirement page, with fuller detail in the Publisher Conduct Requirement PDF (4 August 2026).

What Search Console shows today

Right now, Google Search Console’s Generative AI report shows impressions when your pages appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. It does not give a separate view of clicks or click-through rate for those features. Clicks from AI answers are folded into the general Performance report, and there is no dedicated “AI” search appearance type you can filter by.

That means many UK site owners can see that they were shown in AI answers, but cannot cleanly see how often those appearances turned into visits. For a small business deciding whether to invest in SEO, a website redesign or fresh website design, that gap makes it harder to judge what AI search is really doing for you.

What Google has said so far

On 2 November 2026, Search Engine Journal reported that Google’s Gary Illyes said the team is “super interested in giving more data” that makes sense, but that Google has nothing to announce yet about extra Search Console reporting. The article also restates the current split: impressions in the Generative AI report, AI clicks sitting inside the wider Performance report.

So the regulatory deadline is public and fixed; the product timeline for clearer AI click reporting is not. That is useful context if someone tries to sell you a dramatic overhaul “because Google is changing everything next week”. The sensible response is quieter: keep your foundations strong, watch the reports you already have, and be ready to use clearer metrics when they arrive.

Why this matters for UK small business websites

If you run a trade, clinic, shop or professional service in the UK, you do not need to become a search lawyer. You do need to know three practical things:

• AI answers are part of search now. People still ask Google questions; sometimes the answer appears as an AI summary with links. Your page only helps if Google can find it, understand it and choose to link it.
• Impressions without clear clicks are incomplete. Being shown is not the same as winning an enquiry. Until clicks and CTR for AI features are easier to see, treat AI impressions as a signal, not a full scorecard.
• Ordinary SEO still decides whether you can appear. Thin service pages, missing indexation, slow mobile pages and unclear local details still hold sites back. Clearer AI metrics will not fix those problems for you.

Local firms should also remember that many AI answers favour clear, trustworthy pages about a specific service and place. That is why local SEO and plain-English service pages matter as much as any new report in Search Console.

What to do before 3 December

1. Confirm Search Console is set up and checked monthly

Make sure the correct property covers your live site, that important pages are indexed, and that you look at both the Performance report and the Generative AI report. If pages are missing from Google altogether, start with our guide on why a website may not show on Google.

2. Strengthen the pages that should earn the click

Write service pages that say what you do, where you work, who you help and how to contact you. Use clear headings. Keep contact details easy to find on mobile. These are the same habits that help ordinary rankings and that give AI answers something solid to link.

3. Do not panic-buy tools you cannot act on

Extra dashboards are useless if titles are weak, forms fail or the site is slow. Fix the basics first. A whole-site website and SEO audit is often the cheapest way to see what actually matters on your site before you spend on a rebuild or a monthly plan.

4. Plan how you will use clearer metrics later

When Google separates AI clicks and CTR more clearly, compare them with ordinary search clicks for your main money pages. That will help you decide whether to improve content, chase local visibility, or rethink pages that win impressions but few visits.

Where audits, SEO and redesigns fit

We keep pricing simple for UK businesses. Our whole-site audit costs £99, with a prioritised report in 2 working days. Website builds start from £1,000 and £2,500. Ongoing SEO starts from £500 a month, and website support is £99 a month.

An audit is the right first step when you are not sure whether AI search, ordinary SEO or the site itself is the bottleneck. SEO is the right next step when the foundations are sound and you want steady improvements. A redesign or new build is worth considering when the structure, content model or mobile experience is holding everything back, including how clearly search systems can understand your pages. For more on how AI answers are adding links, see our earlier note on Google adding more links to its AI answers.

Quick answers

Not sure what’s holding your website back? Get your whole site reviewed for £99, with prioritised fixes in 2 working days. Book a site audit for only £99.