US media group Penske Media sues Google over “AI Overviews” – What do they mean for publishers and the future of web search?

### A Silent Death: How Google's AI is Destroying the Fundamental Principle of the Free Internet ### Google vs. Publishers: The War for Clicks Has Begun – Who Will Lose in the End ### The End of Clicking? Why Google's AI Answers Could Change the Internet Forever ###

No clicks, no revenue: Are thousands of websites facing closure because of Google's AI?

Google has revolutionized web search with its "AI Overviews," but this revolution threatens to devour its own children. What began as a user-friendly innovation that answers search queries directly with AI-generated summaries is turning into an existential threat to the ecosystem that once made Google great. Traffic to news portals, blogs, and trade magazines is plummeting dramatically as users get answers directly from Google and no longer visit the original sources. This deprives publishers and content creators of their livelihoods.

At the center of the storm is the historic lawsuit by media conglomerate Penske Media Corporation (Rolling Stone, Variety), which accuses Google of abusing its overwhelming monopoly to "cannibalize" content for its AI without paying for it. This accusation is supported by alarming studies documenting a decline in click-through rates of up to 47 percent and showing that users are increasingly ending their internet searches without visiting a single website.

This development raises fundamental questions: Are we at the end of an era in which a decentralized network of websites is being replaced by a centralized information monopoly? Is Google's actions an illegal act that not only endangers media diversity but undermines the fundamental principle of the internet—the exchange of traffic for content? The dispute between Google and the publishers is more than just a legal dispute; it is a battle for the future of information distribution in the digital age.

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What are Google AI reviews and why are they controversial?

The AI ​​summaries introduced by Google, officially called "AI Overviews," are at the center of a legal dispute that raises fundamental questions about the future of the internet. These automatically generated answer boxes appear prominently above traditional search results and summarize information from various sources. But what initially appears to be a user-friendly innovation is developing into an existential threat to many online media outlets.

The AI ​​overviews use artificial intelligence to answer search queries directly, without requiring users to visit the original web pages. Google launched this functionality in the US in May 2024 and expanded it to Germany in March 2025. The technology promises faster answers but brings profound changes to the entire online ecosystem.

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Which media company is suing Google and on what grounds?

Penske Media Corporation, the parent company of renowned publications such as Rolling Stone, Billboard, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter, became the first major American media company to file a lawsuit against Google in September 2025. This historic lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington, the same court that had previously found Google to have an illegal monopoly in web search in 2024.

The lawsuit is based on several serious allegations. Penske Media argues that Google is abusing its monopoly position to force publishers to make their content available for AI summaries. The central allegation is that Google is forcing website operators to choose between allowing their content to be used for AI training and summaries, or their pages will disappear completely from Google search results.

This practice constitutes a clear violation of US competition law, the argument goes. Google uses its dominant position not only to index websites but also to obtain training data for its AI systems free of charge. Without this monopoly, Google would be forced to pay licensing fees for the use of third-party content, as competing AI companies like OpenAI already do with various publishers.

How does AI summaries change user behavior?

Several scientific studies document dramatic changes in user behavior since the introduction of AI Overviews. The renowned Pew Research Center conducted a comprehensive analysis of nearly 70,000 Google searches by 900 American users. The results are alarming for content providers: When searching with AI Overviews, only 8 percent of users click on traditional search results, compared to 15 percent on traditional search results pages.

Even more drastic is the low level of interaction with the sources linked in the AI ​​Overviews themselves. Users click on the original sources linked within the AI ​​summary in only one percent of all cases. This means that even websites that appear as sources in the AI ​​Overviews generate virtually no traffic.

A German study by Wordsmattr shows similarly worrying trends since the launch of AI Overviews in Germany in March 2025. German websites experienced an average decline in clicks of 17.8 percent and a 14 percent drop in click-through rates. Most notably, impressions fell by only 1.2 percent, meaning that while websites continue to appear in search results, they are clicked on significantly less.

The British SEO platform Authoritas documented even more drastic losses in its study. Click-through rates fell by 47.5 percent on desktop devices and 37.7 percent on mobile devices when AI Overviews were displayed. These figures illustrate the extent of the disruption Google is causing with its new technology.

Why do users end their browsing sessions more often?

A particularly significant aspect of this behavioral change is the tendency for users to end their browsing sessions after viewing an AI Overview. While 16 percent of users end their browsing session with traditional search results, this figure rises to 26 percent with AI Overviews. This suggests that the AI ​​summaries actually satisfy users' information needs without requiring them to visit additional web pages.

This development is certainly positive from a user-friendliness perspective, but it poses a fundamental challenge for the entire web ecosystem. For decades, the internet was based on the principle of linking and traffic exchange between different websites. If users receive their information directly from Google and don't visit any other sites, this system collapses.

Google implicitly confirms these trends through its own statements. The company emphasizes that users find AI-powered search results more helpful and engage with them more intensively. At the same time, Google argues that the new features lead to more diverse discoveries, but cannot provide convincing data for actual traffic increases from third-party providers.

What impact do AI Overviews have on different industries?

The impact of AI Overviews is not evenly distributed across all industries. News media and publishers are particularly hard hit because their content is frequently used for timely information queries. According to an analysis by SimilarWeb, the proportion of news searches without clicks on results increased from 56 percent to 69 percent since the introduction of AI Overviews in May 2024. At the same time, traffic to news websites fell from a peak of 2.3 billion clicks in July 2024 to under 1.7 billion clicks.

Various media companies are reporting significant traffic losses. DMG Media, operator of the Daily Mail, recorded a drop of up to 89 percent. Established outlets such as Business Insider, The Washington Post, and HuffPost also reported significant losses. These developments have already led to layoffs at several US media outlets.

A study by Digital Content Next, a lobby group for major US publishers, documented an average traffic decline of 10 percent for 19 member companies in just eight weeks between May and June 2025. These figures refute Google's claims about "quality clicks" and confirm publishers' fears.

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How does Google respond to the criticism and allegations?

Google vigorously denies all allegations in the lawsuit and presents a completely different perspective on the impact of AI Overviews. A Google spokesperson emphasized that the AI ​​summaries make web searches more useful and engaging for users. This creates new opportunities to discover content online, and Google directs "billions of clicks" to other websites every day.

Particularly interesting is Google's argument that AI Overviews will increase the diversity of linked websites. The company claims that the new features will give more diverse sources attention than would be the case with traditional search results.

Google also criticizes the methodology of the various studies documenting negative impacts. The company argues that many claims of traffic loss are based on incomplete and biased data. Websites can experience traffic fluctuations for various reasons, including seasonal demand, user interests, and routine algorithm updates.

A Google spokesperson called a prominent Pew Research study "flawed and biased," arguing that the methodology used and the set of search queries were not representative of actual search traffic. Google has not observed a significant decline in aggregate web traffic, as the study suggests.

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What legal challenges are there?

Penske Media's lawsuit is just the beginning of a broader legal battle surrounding AI technologies and copyright. In 2025, there were already landmark rulings in similar cases that set the legal limits for AI training with copyrighted material.

In the case Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence, the U.S. District Court of Delaware ruled in February 2025 that the use of copyrighted content to train an AI does not automatically fall under the fair use doctrine. The court found that Ross Intelligence, an AI startup for legal research, had infringed Thomson Reuters' rights by using content from the Westlaw database for AI training without permission.

This ruling could serve as a precedent for the Google lawsuit, even though it involved non-generative AI. The judge completely rejected the fair use defense, emphasizing the commercial nature of the use and its lack of "transformativity." Ross had not creatively transformed the material but merely used it as a training basis for a competing product.

What role does Google’s monopoly position play in the debate?

Google's monopoly position in the search engine market is the central crux of the entire debate. In August 2024, the federal court in Washington had already ruled that Google illegally holds a monopoly in internet search. Google controls approximately 90 percent of the US search market and 94.9 percent of online searches on mobile devices.

This monopoly position allows Google to dictate terms that would be unthinkable without market dominance. Publishers face an impossible choice: either allow Google to use their content for AI summaries or risk disappearing from search results entirely. This situation is fundamentally different from the starting position of smaller AI companies, which must enter into licensing agreements with publishers.

The industry association News/Media Alliance, which represents more than 2,200 US publishers, criticized Google for exploiting its market power. Unlike competitors like OpenAI, which enter into licensing agreements with publishers, Google is not compelled to engage in such "healthy practices," said association president Danielle Coffey.

What happened to the attempts to break up Google?

Parallel to the Penske lawsuit, a separate proceeding was underway concerning the potential consequences of Google's illegal monopoly. The US government had demanded far-reaching measures against Google, including the forced sale of the Chrome browser and the Android operating system.

In September 2025, however, federal judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google was not required to sell these businesses. He wrote in his 230-page ruling that the government had gone too far with its demands. Google may keep the Chrome browser and Android, but must meet other requirements.

The court nevertheless imposed significant restrictions. Google will be required to share certain search engine data with competitors in order to strengthen competition. This data is intended to help rival search engines like Microsoft's Bing or DuckDuckGo, as well as AI companies like OpenAI, develop their products.

In addition, Google is no longer allowed to enter into exclusive agreements that would prevent device manufacturers from pre-installing competing products. However, the company can still pay other companies like Apple or Mozilla to prominently display Google services. According to information from the trial, Apple received billions for having Google Search pre-installed on iPhones as standard.

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How is the situation developing in Europe?

Europe is becoming a key arena in the fight over AI Overviews regulation. In July 2025, the Independent Publishers Alliance, a London-based group of publishers, filed a comprehensive antitrust complaint with the EU Commission. The complaint accuses Google of abusing its market power in the search engine sector and calls for urgent action to prevent "irreparable harm."

The EU complaint is particularly controversial because it is based on several European laws. In addition to antitrust allegations, Google may be violating the Digital Markets Act by favoring its own AI summaries and displacing competing content. The Digital Services Act requires transparent and accountable recommendation systems, which is questionable given the opaque AI Overviews.

Particularly serious is the potential violation of the European Media Freedom Act, which is intended to protect media diversity. The EU sees the danger that independent media outlets will be threatened by traffic losses and that citizens will have less access to diverse sources of information.

The potential consequences are drastic. Under the Digital Services Act, the EU Commission can impose fines of up to six percent of Alphabet's global annual turnover, which would amount to up to €20.2 billion. Under the Digital Markets Act, fines of up to €40 billion are even possible.

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What structural measures are conceivable?

European regulators are considering various structural measures against Google. These include requiring AI Overviews to be displayed less prominently or more clearly labeled as AI-generated. Google could also be forced to disclose and diversify its source selection.

More extreme measures include opening the Google index to competitors or even temporarily suspending the AI ​​Overview service. However, these steps would only be used in cases of particularly serious violations.

The EU competition authority and the UK Competition and Markets Authority have already confirmed that they have received the complaints. This suggests that an official investigation could be launched, which could last years and have far-reaching consequences for Google's business model.

How do AI reviews differ from traditional web search?

The fundamental change brought about by AI Overviews lies in the reversal of the traditional internet paradigm. For decades, the web operated on the principle of "access for traffic" – search engines indexed content and, in return, redirected users to the original web pages. This system enabled billions of websites to finance themselves through advertising and other monetization models.

AI Overviews break this system by presenting information directly on Google's page. Users get their answers without visiting the original sources. This leads to traffic cannibalization and undermines the business case for many online media outlets.

The way AI overviews are triggered is particularly problematic. The Pew Research study shows that only 8 percent of one- or two-word searches result in an AI summary, but for queries with ten or more words, this percentage rises to 53 percent. Questions with question words like "who," "what," or "why" result in an AI answer in 60 percent of cases.

These patterns show that AI overviews are particularly dominant in informative and explanatory content – ​​precisely the area in which many media outlets and publishers have their strengths and generate their revenue.

What alternatives do publishers and media companies have?

Given the dramatic loss of traffic, publishers are looking for alternatives to their dependence on Google. Some media companies are beginning to fundamentally rethink their strategies and develop alternative traffic sources. These include social media platforms, newsletters, proprietary apps, and direct traffic through brand building.

Developing your own channels is becoming increasingly important. Media companies are investing more heavily in newsletter marketing, podcast formats, and community building to establish a direct relationship with their target audience that isn't dependent on Google's algorithm changes.

At the same time, publishers are experimenting with new approaches to search engine optimized content. The concept of "Generative Engine Optimization" is gaining traction—the optimization of content for AI search engines such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, and Claude in addition to Google.

Some publishers are also considering legal action or collective negotiations with Google regarding royalties for the use of their content. The model of OpenAI, which has entered into licensing agreements with various publishers, could serve as a model.

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How are monetization models changing on the Internet?

The AI ​​Overviews fundamentally challenge established monetization models. Advertising-based business models that rely on high visitor numbers are facing an existential threat due to the dramatic decline in traffic. Publishers must find new ways to monetize their content if they can no longer rely on users visiting their websites.

At the same time, Google is beginning to integrate advertising into AI Overviews. In May 2025, the company announced that it would embed ads directly into AI summaries. This means that Google is not only diverting traffic from other websites but also reclaiming the associated advertising revenue.

This dual movement—loss of traffic for publishers and advertising integration with Google—significantly exacerbates the media industry's economic problems. Publishers not only lose reach but also the opportunity to monetize that reach, while Google exploits both aspects to its advantage.

The development of subscription models and other direct monetization forms is therefore gaining importance. Publishers are increasingly investing in premium content, membership programs, and other forms of direct user financing that operate independently of Google traffic.

What does this mean for the future of the Internet?

The controversy surrounding AI Overviews raises fundamental questions about the structure and future of the internet. The decentralized system of the World Wide Web, based on linking and traffic exchange, is facing a potential transformation into a centralized system in which a few large platforms control information distribution.

If the trend of users receiving their information directly from AI systems continues, this could lead to a drastic reduction in diversity on the internet. Smaller websites and specialized content could disappear if they can no longer generate enough traffic to finance themselves.

At the same time, new forms of information monopolies are emerging. When a few AI systems decide what information users receive and how it is presented, immense power over public opinion formation is concentrated in the hands of a few technology companies.

The legal and regulatory disputes of the coming years will therefore not only determine the business models of individual companies, but also the fundamental structure of the information age. The Penske Media lawsuit and the European antitrust complaints are the first steps in a broader societal debate about the role of AI in the information landscape.

The answers that courts and regulators find to these challenges in the coming years will shape how people access information in the future and how the internet as a whole functions. The choice between an open, decentralized web and a system controlled by a few platforms is at the heart of the debate.

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