Why have Google’s ‘AI overviews’ ignited an antitrust tempest in the European Union?
EU Independent Publishers Complaint Over Google’s AI Overviews
• Independent publishers in the EU have filed an antitrust complaint against Google’s AI-powered summaries, AI Overviews.
• The complaint alleges Google is abusing market dominance, siphoning traffic and revenue from publishers, and threatening independent journalism.
• AI Overviews, introduced as an experiment in May 2023, are now a core part of Google Search in many regions.
• The publishers’ main complaints are about content disincentivist due to Google’s AI feature, leading to a drop in traffic, advertising revenue, and subscriber numbers.
• Google has begun placing ads within AI Overviews since May 2024, directly monetizing content that publishers have invested in.