Google is being sued by Penske Media Corporation (PMC), owner of Rolling Stone, Variety, Billboard, and other outlets, over its AI Overviews feature. PMC alleges Google illegally uses publisher content to generate summaries that reduce clicks to their sites, hurting revenue.
PMC argues the traditional web model — content access in exchange for referral traffic — is being undermined, claiming traffic to its sites has dropped since AI Overviews launched. Opting out, it says, would erase them from Google search results.
Google disputes the charges, saying AI Overviews improve search and increase site diversity in referrals.
The case, the first direct publisher lawsuit against Google over AI, highlights growing tension between media companies and tech giants, as publishers see AI-driven summaries as a threat to their survival.