Public Discord messages might start showing up in Google Search, unless users opt out

Discord has announced a new feature that could potentially display summaries and content from Discord servers in search engine results, unless users choose to opt out. The company categorizes its servers into three types: private, community, and discoverable. The discoverable servers, which are the most public, allow anyone to join without needing an invitation. In a recent announcement, Discord stated that all discoverable servers will receive a server web page, providing a summary of the server's overall content.

The server web page will also include discussion summaries extracted from public channels. If any conversation is deemed noteworthy by an AI model or moderator, it could potentially appear on the web page and, by extension, in search engine results like Google. Discord hopes that this feature will help surface channels in search engines such as Google's AI Mode or other platforms like Reddit, where users might search for specific topics.

While server admins can exclude certain channels and channel summaries from appearing on the server web page, they cannot opt out of the entire server. Users have the option to opt out as well. They can manage their settings in User Settings > Data and Privacy to control whether their public messages will be included in the server web page.

Discord has announced that these changes will be implemented starting November 16. Administrators and users who wish to opt out of having their public messages and channels included in web pages, and subsequently in search results, must do so before this date.