Google has launched a new feature in its search engine called AI Overviews, and it’s already stirring up a big fight in publishers. These AI Overviews are short, smart summaries created by artificial intelligence. When someone searches on Google, the AI gives a direct answer at the top of the page, using information pulled from websites across the internet.
While this sounds helpful for users, it’s causing major problems for independent news publishers. These summaries often answer people’s questions right away, so users don’t click on the actual websites that created the content. This is where the problem starts.
Many smaller publishers say that this new feature is cutting into their web traffic. That means fewer people are visiting their websites. And for businesses that rely on clicks to earn money from ads or subscriptions, this drop in traffic is a big deal. Some publishers say it’s hurting their income so badly that they might not survive.
Why Publishers Say It’s Unfair
Several groups that support independent media in the European Union have filed a formal complaint against Google. They say the company is being unfair by using their content to power its AI without paying them or asking for permission.
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The publishers explain that the AI Overviews copy and summarize information from their websites. But instead of sending users to these sites, Google keeps people on its own page by showing the answer right there. This takes away the need to visit the source, which means fewer page views for the original creators.
Making matters worse, publishers say there’s no real way to opt out. If they ask Google not to use their content in AI Overviews, their websites also stop showing up in regular search results. That would be like disappearing from the internet, which no business can afford.
On top of that, Google is now putting ads inside the AI Overviews. So the company is making money from these summaries — which are made using content created by other people — without giving anything back. The publishers argue this is not just unfair but harmful to competition, especially for smaller media outlets.
They believe Google is taking advantage of its massive power in the search market, and using it to control how information is shown and who profits from it.
What Regulators Are Doing About It
This issue has reached top regulators in both the European Union and the United Kingdom. A formal antitrust complaint has been filed with the European Commission, and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has also received the complaint.
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The complaint calls for urgent action to stop Google from using AI Overviews while the case is being looked into. The publishers say the damage is already happening and needs to be stopped right away to protect independent journalism.
The CMA has said that the case fits into its ongoing review of whether Google should be labeled as having “strategic market status.” If Google gets that label, it means regulators would have more power to control its behavior and make sure it plays fair with others in the market.
For now, Google has defended its AI Overviews, saying they are designed to help users and boost discovery for websites. A company spokesperson said that more people are clicking through to sites with AI Overviews, and those clicks are of “higher quality.” Google also says that search traffic goes up and down for many reasons — like changes in interest or updates to how search works.
But publishers aren’t buying it. They argue that the change is hurting their ability to survive, and that Google is acting like a gatekeeper to the internet — deciding who gets seen, and who doesn’t.
This battle is now part of a growing wave of pushback against Big Tech across Europe, where laws are getting stricter around how powerful companies use people’s data and other businesses’ content.