If you love music or not, you would have heard of the Rolling Stone, which is famous and well known for its interviews with music stars. It is also quite known for its journalism. Right now, it’s making news for a completely different cause. They are alleging that Google’s AI-powered search summaries are actively killing their business.
The company behind Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, and many other great publications, that is Penske Media Corporation has taken the step to sue Google and its parent company, Alphabet. The company is alleging that Google has and is actively taking their content without their permission. That is to make AI abstracts, and due to which people do not go across the actual sites of them, TechCrunch reported.
The Actual Reason of the Problem
Overviews by Google’s AI is a feature that provides answers in the search results, to be specific, directly to the user’s question. The same is done by utilizing the information taken from different websites. The actual problem arises when Google takes the content of a news site, for example, Rolling Stone, summarizes it with AI and then displays that summary prominently in the search results.
This no-click, convenient system is affecting publishers as they are losing their traffic. The result of losing traffic means lower advertising revenue, subscription opportunities, and affiliate income. I think this is pretty self-explanatory. But if I had to explain it with an analogy it’s basically as if someone is reading your newspaper right behind you. What they do next is they tell everyone in the world about it, and this way millions of people get the news without the publishers receiving a penny.
Penske Media CEO, Jay Penske, outlines the issue:
“It is our obligation to guard the top-notch journalists and the prize-winning journalism of PMC as a source of truth. We need to not only reactively but also proactively work for the future of digital media and safeguard its honesty – which is something that Google’s present moves are impacting”
Google’s Defense
Google spokesperson José Castañeda states that AI Overviews are beneficial for the user as they make the search “more helpful”. Not only that, he also says that they create “new opportunities for content to be discovered.” The truth is the world of SEO is changing, instead of just focusing on SEO, creators should focus on how LLMs and GEO work. Furthermore, Google insists that it sends billions of clicks to websites every day and that the AI Overviews actually diversify the traffic which means that “a greater diversity of locations” receive visits.
On the contrary, the lawsuit filed by Penske Media alleges that Google refuses to release any data to back up the claims about traffic.
Why This Lawsuit Matters
The current suits specifically accuse Google of introducing AI Overviews in search results. What makes all of this so vital is the fact that Google processes billions of searches every single day. Additionally, it acts as the foremost access point to find content available on the internet.
Moreover, the timing is what makes it even more crucial. Because right now Google has just managed to come clear of a significant antitrust break-up situation. This was after the federal judge’s decision that Google had not been acting illegally in the conduct of its search monopoly. But this particular lawsuit, alleges that Google is in fact employing the same monopoly power in order to impose ruthless terms on publishers.
What Could Happen Next
Honestly, there are a lot of things that could happen next, for example:
- Financial Compensation: Google might have to pay publishing companies for using their content in their AI summaries.
- Technical Changes: In my opinion this won’t happen, but never say never, right? Google might modify its AI overviews, to drive back more traffic to its original sources.
- Licensing Agreements: Google and publishers might be a part of negotiating deals in the future.
- Regulatory Action: This lawsuit might lead to government intervention, for the regulation of how companies use AI copyrighted content.
The Bigger Stakes
This issue is not recent. Several news agencies have been suing AI companies for use of their copyright content. But the truth is this battle is going to affect everyone. Because the outcome is going to determine factors such as news quality, how the audience is going to get access to information, AI development and even creator rights.
The question now is going to be whether authorities are going to force Google to change how AI Overviews work. Or is it on publishers now to find a completely different way to survive in this AI-dominated world.
