Google defends its AI-generated search summaries as publishers sue over lost ad revenue

Google is facing a lawsuit over its AI-generated search summaries, just as the company insists it wants to maintain a balance between traditional links and AI overviews. For some publishers, though, the fight is about their financial survival.

The case was brought by Penske Media Corporation, the parent company of Rolling Stone. Penske argues that Google's new AI Overviews have caused a sharp drop in visits to original articles by placing generated summaries prominently at the top of search results. That traffic loss, they say, translates directly into lost ad revenue.

Independent analyses suggest that search traffic to many publishers does decline when Google's AI-generated answers appear in the top slot.

Google points to changing user habits

At an AI Summit in New York, Markham Erickson, Google's vice president for government affairs and public policy, laid out the company's view, according to The Verge.

Erickson described a shift in user behavior: instead of scrolling through a list of "10 blue links," many people now prefer contextual answers produced by AI. To address that change, Google says it wants to provide both options - classic search results and AI overviews.

The stated goal is a "healthy ecosystem" where publishers still benefit from referral traffic while users get information in the format they prefer. Google maintains that traditional links will continue to play a role.

Publishers see mounting risks

Despite Google's reassurances, many media companies say their position is being undercut. Publishers create the articles that fuel Google's AI answers, but the summaries reduce the incentive for users to click through to the original sites.

Google has also started testing ads inside AI-generated search responses. For example, when someone asks a conversational query about fixing low water pressure, they now see both the AI explanation and sponsored suggestions for plumbing services.

That change heightens publisher concerns. Penske's lawsuit is part of a broader struggle over who controls digital advertising - and whether media outlets will remain part of the system or whether Google moves closer to functioning as an "omni-publisher" that captures user attention and monetizes it directly.