A coalition of independent publishers has filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission, accusing Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) of misusing its dominant position in online search through its AI-generated summaries, known as AI Overviews, Reuters reported on Friday, citing a document they had seen, News.az reports citing Xinhua.
The group also requested interim measures to prevent what it describes as ongoing and potentially irreparable damage to their businesses.
AI Overviews, introduced by Google in over 100 countries, generate summaries using content from various websites and display them prominently above standard search results.
Since May, Google has also started incorporating advertisements into these summaries.
While the tech giant sees the integration of AI as a major leap forward in enhancing user experience and creating new discovery opportunities for content providers, many publishers argue it is costing them valuable traffic, readership, and revenue.
The Independent Publishers Alliance, in a complaint dated June 30, accused Google of unfairly leveraging its search dominance to prioritize AI-generated content built on publishers’ material, the report said.
The group said there is currently no option for publishers to exclude their content from being used in Google’s AI training or summaries without also losing visibility in traditional search listings.
The European Commission declined to comment on the matter, though the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority confirmed receipt of the complaint.
Google, responding to the allegations, defended its AI-driven features, saying they help users explore more questions and drive substantial traffic to websites.
However, the publishers maintain that Google’s practices harm competition and could threaten the viability of independent journalism, the report added.
Alongside the Independent Publishers Alliance, the complaint is backed by the Movement for an Open Web and the U.K.-based nonprofit Foxglove Legal.
Foxglove’s co-executive director Rosa Curling warned that AI Overviews pose an existential risk to independent news and called on regulators to enforce opt-out options for content creators.
Similar legal actions have been launched in the U.K., echoing a lawsuit filed in the U.S. by an educational technology company that claims Google’s AI tools are devaluing original content and undercutting publishers’ competitiveness, the report said.
