Publishers slam Google's AI Mode as 'theft' of their content
What's the story
The News/Media Alliance, a trade organization representing major US news publishers, has slammed Google's newly announced AI Mode. In a statement, the Alliance accused Google of "depriving" publishers of traffic and revenue through this new tool. The feature provides AI-generated responses alongside traditional search results in a simplified interface. The criticism comes after Google announced at its I/O event this week that it would extend the AI Mode to all users in the US.
Controversial strategy
Google's approach to incorporating publisher content
Google's AI Mode offers an AI-generated response and a list of relevant links when users enter a query. Danielle Coffey, CEO of the News/Media Alliance, slammed this approach, saying, "Links were the last redeeming quality of search that gave publishers traffic and revenue." She further accused Google of "taking content by force and using it with no return," calling it theft.
Document disclosure
Internal document reveals Google's decision on publisher consent
An internal document revealed during Google's antitrust trial over its search dominance showed that the company opted not to seek consent from publishers for their work to be included in its AI search features. Instead, it decided that publishers must opt out of search results entirely if they don't want their work included in AI features. Google Search head Liz Reid defended this decision. She said allowing publishers to opt out of individual features would add "enormous complexity."
Market control
Google's dominance and impact on publishers
Google's dominance in the search market (over 90% share) gives it a major edge in the AI arena. Many site owners have reluctantly permitted Google to use their content for its AI features like AI Overviews, which offer AI-generated responses for certain queries. But this feature often cuts their traffic by directly answering questions and eliminating the need for users to click on links.
Legal proceedings
Proposed remedies and Google's response
A federal judge is now weighing what steps Google should take to restore competition in online search. One of the proposed remedies is a recommendation for Google to offer online publishers and creators a way to opt out of their web page content being used to train Google's generative AI models "on a model-by-model basis." In response, Google said publishers have always controlled how their content is made available for AI model training.
Revenue concerns
Impact of AI overviews on publishers
Since the launch of AI Overviews, traffic to some publishers' sites has plummeted. This has sparked concerns among publishers regarding the long-term effect on their revenue. Brooke Hartley Moy, CEO of Infactory, an AI start-up collaborating with publishers, cautioned that if Google's models reach a stage where human content is reduced, it would be harmful for publishers.