This is the first major publisher suing Google for the feature, as research from Pew shows that less than one percent of users click on from links that have an AI Overview on the results.
20% drop in traffic
PMC, which is also the parent company of Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, has seen traffic drop by some 20% and affiliate revenue decline 30% since Google’s overviews started on their stories.
— Siphoning and discouraging user traffic to PMC’s and other publishers’ websites in this manner will have profoundly harmful effects on the overall quality and quantity of the information accessible on the internet, the company says, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Stopping it means dropping out
They are now facing a dilemma to either stop Google from collecting information for their Overviews — and lose regular search traffic — or let it keep summarizing information from their websites and uphold their presence in the ten blue links, which is why they are suing:
— We have a responsibility to proactively fight for the future of digital media and preserve its integrity – all of which is threatened by Google’s current actions, they say, according to Reuters.
Google insists it’s quality traffic
Google, on the other hand, says that people are not only clicking on links from AI Overviews, but that the quality is better:
— With AI Overviews, people find search more helpful and use it more, creating new opportunities for content to be discovered, Google’s José Castañeda tells the WSJ. — Every day, Google sends billions of clicks to sites across the web, and AI Overviews send traffic to a greater diversity of sites. We will defend against these meritless claims.
Google was found to hold an illegal monopoly in the search business in April 2025, but the penalties imposed were seen as a slap on the wrist rather than any serious restructuring.
Penske’s trial will be held in the same court.
Read more: Wall Street Journal and Reuters.