Major publishers weigh blocking Google over AI summaries affecting traffic
Big publishers are considering blocking Google from using their articles, mainly because Google's AI is summarizing their work and causing a drop in search traffic.
Some are even thinking about fully stopping Google's web crawlers.
Industry leaders like USA Today's Mike Reed say, "It's time to take a stand," while others at People, Politico, and The Economist are having similar talks.
Reddit considers cutting AI access
Reddit, which made a $60 million deal with Google in 2024 for content access, is now thinking about cutting off AI use too, a move that could inspire other sites to follow.
Publishers are also considering the Google-Extended feature of the bot to limit AI without losing all search visibility.
Meanwhile, Google says its AI brings "billions of clicks" each week and gives publishers ways to control what gets used.