Recent tracking data from NewzDash, a company specializing in visibility analytics for news publishers, reveals that Google is now incorporating the Top Stories carousel directly within AI Overviews instead of positioning it as a standalone module further down the page.
In the data scrutinized, it was noted that when Top Stories were displayed, 15.5% of cases in the U.S. and 17.46% in the U.K. featured the carousel embedded in the AI Overview.
Notably, the entertainment category dominated in both regions. However, the report did not clarify the sample size, the extent of the search coverage, or the dates the data pertains to.
This evolution reflects a singular placement rather than a dual option, as the two entities never appeared concurrently in the results that were analyzed by NewzDash.
John Shehata, the founder and CEO, characterizes this adjustment as an advantageous positioning on the page. There is currently no comparative data evaluating clicks from these two configurations.
Moreover, Google has introduced a new opt-out feature that affects news placements within its search results.
Understanding Google’s AI Opt-Out Implications
Google’s Search Console feature allows publishers to decline AI-driven functions, specifically impacting AI Overviews—a setting that has been considered since June 17.
The initial testing was conducted with a select group of U.K. site proprietors, and Google’s support page indicates that this control is gradually being extended to additional website owners.
According to Shehata, opting out would likely result in a publisher’s exclusion from the Top Stories carousel situated within the AI Overview, given that this carousel comprises publisher links included in the AI components covered by the setting.
He regards this interpretation as a high-confidence assumption pending empirical validation through further testing from NewzDash.
Google has not officially confirmed these implications. Its support documentation states that links and content from a site that opts out will not feature in the related sections, yet content from alternate sites will still be accessible.
Importantly, Google delineates its guidelines at the overarching feature level, offering no specific clarification for the carousel component.
Distinguishing Google-Extended from Search Opt-Out
Shehata emphasizes a common misconception among publishers regarding two distinct controls. The Google-Extended configurations govern whether the content crawled influences future Gemini models, thereby enhancing answer accuracy in Gemini Apps and through Grounding with Google Search on Vertex AI.
Importantly, this control does not impact a site’s presence in Google Search—it does not by itself prevent a publisher from appearing in AI Overviews, AI Mode, or any Top Stories features.
Significance of These Developments
Until now, the conversation surrounding opt-out capabilities centered primarily on content usage and whether Google could leverage a newsroom’s output for reader engagement.
However, NewzDash’s findings indicate that the associated headlines themselves are now entwined with the opt-out decision.
Should the carousel become part of the AI Overview, a publisher’s decision to withdraw also reciprocally affects the visibility of their headlines.
This paradigm shift complicates the calculus surrounding the implications of such a choice, obscuring the costs involved.
With Google defining the parameters for the overall feature without explicitly addressing the carousel’s status, newsrooms must navigate the tension between a firm opposition to AI-generated summaries and the potential for diminished visibility in the news landscape.
Looking Forward
Google has articulated plans to expand the scope of features affected by this opt-out setting as its Search platform evolves.
This suggests that the three features currently mentioned may not represent a comprehensive list in the future. Consequently, the scope of the setting will likely broaden over time, particularly relevant to the subset of sites currently affected.
Source link: Searchenginejournal.com.
