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AI Today · 31 October 2026

Google and Microsoft back a shared robots.txt opt-out from AI training, and the ECB maps AI use in Europe

Today: a common robots.txt signal that lets websites refuse AI training across several providers at once, new ECB figures on how euro area firms and workers use AI, and a New York law restricting what AI chatbots may do with minors.

  1. 01

    Google and Microsoft will honour a single robots.txt signal for opting out of AI training

    On 30 October Google and Microsoft announced support for a shared policy token in robots.txt that lets a website state one AI training preference for all participating providers instead of addressing each crawler separately. The proposal is an individual Internet-Draft submitted to the IETF by an Anthropic engineer and has no formal standing yet. Google says it aims to support the token in 2027 and will treat an opt-out as a block on Google-Extended unless a site names Google-Extended explicitly. Microsoft says it will start honouring the new preferences on 1 February 2027, adds a separate page-level control for use of content in AI answers, and states that neither choice affects eligibility for normal Bing search results.

    What it means for you

    If you run a website, decide now whether you want your content used for AI training and whether you still want it cited in AI answers, because these are becoming separate choices. Nothing changes until 2027, and the signal is voluntary, so existing per-company controls remain worth keeping.

    Sources

  2. 02

    ECB: half of euro area workers now use AI at work, but most firms use it only lightly

    In a speech on 30 October, ECB Executive Board member Philip R. Lane presented survey data on AI adoption in the euro area. According to the ECB's household survey, 52 per cent of workers now use AI at work, up from 26 per cent in 2024, and the median user saves about three hours a week, although gains are very uneven. Among firms surveyed at the end of 2025, 64 per cent used AI experimentally or moderately and only 7 per cent significantly; most cited better business processes rather than lower labour costs as the reason.

    What it means for you

    These figures are a useful benchmark for your own organisation: broad but shallow use is the norm, and the largest time savings come from a few tasks such as coding and data analysis. Measuring where AI actually saves time in your team is more useful than counting how many people have access.

    Sources

  3. 03

    New York bans unsafe AI chatbot features for minors and requires age checks

    New York's governor signed a law on 28 October that forbids companies from offering certain chatbot features to users under 18, or to anyone whose adult status has not been confirmed. The banned features include posing as a human, claiming a personal or romantic relationship with a child, encouraging self-harm or secrecy from parents, and sexually explicit content. Providers must verify age using more than one method, at least one of them not based solely on a government ID, and delete age data afterwards. The state attorney general can seek penalties of up to 25,000 dollars per violation; according to the IAPP, the law takes effect on 1 January 2027.

    What it means for you

    If your organisation offers a chatbot to the public, including customers in the United States, review whether it could reach minors and how it handles emotional or sensitive conversations. Rules of this kind are spreading, so clear age and safety safeguards are worth planning for early.

    Sources