EU publishers file antitrust complaint against Google AI Overviews

The Independent Publishers Alliance has filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission against Google's AI Overviews feature, alleging abuse of market power in online search. Last week's complaint represents the latest regulatory challenge to how AI systems integrate with existing content ecosystems.

AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that appear above traditional hyperlinks in Google Search results, now displayed to users in over 100 countries. Google began adding advertisements to these summaries in May 2024, creating a new revenue stream from AI-processed content that potentially reduces user clicks to external websites where Google's traditional search results and ads are displayed.

Most importantly for the EU case, publishers cannot prevent their content from being used for AI training or summary generation while they are likely to lose visibility in Google's general search results. This creates a forced participation scenario where content creators must allow their material to be used for AI training and summarization to maintain search visibility, even when this usage may reduce traffic to their original content.

Google maintains that it sends billions of clicks to websites daily and that AI experiences create new discovery opportunities for content and businesses. The company notes that website traffic fluctuates due to multiple factors including seasonal demand, user interests, and algorithmic updates.

The antitrust complaint includes requests for interim measures to prevent what the publishers describe as "serious irreparable harm to competition." Similar complaints have been filed with the UK's Competition and Markets Authority and through a US lawsuit by an educational technology company. As such, the complaint reflects emerging tensions between AI system operators and content creators across multiple jurisdictions.

Source: Foo Yun Chee (Reuters)