A group of publishers has filed a complaint against Google for displaying AI search results. These divert traffic away from websites, the publishers claim.
Since Google started showing AI Overviews in its search engine, the feature has caused much controversy. Not only because of sometimes strange answers, but news publishers and bloggers aren’t happy with it either. A group of European publishers is taking up arms against Google.
In a document submitted to the European Commission on June 30, reviewed by Reuters, the publishers claim that Google is causing them “irreparable damage”. Google is taking away much-needed traffic and consequently revenue. Moreover, website managers cannot opt out of the AI Overviews. As a user, you can return to the “old” Google without AI through a workaround.
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Pre-digested Answer
The AI Overviews in Google provide an AI-generated answer to search queries, based on several high-scoring sources for that specific question. Because users get the answer pre-digested, they no longer need to click through to the source itself, say the disgruntled publishers.
The fact that Google unleashes its webcrawlers to collect this information without the publishers’ permission twists the knife deeper in the wound. The complainants are asking for the possibility for independent news media to be able to opt out of AI Overviews.
Google naturally sees it differently. The tech giant claims in a response to Reuters that the AI summaries would actually encourage interest in gathering more information, without specifying what this is based on. According to Google, the impact of AI Overviews on website traffic cannot be demonstrated one-to-one because it depends on multiple factors.
The complaint will not only be filed with the European Commission but also with the British market authority. American publishers are pulling on the same rope. The pressure on Google is thus continuously increasing.