Google’s AI Overviews Spark Controversy Over Publisher Content Use
United States, Monday, 5 May 2025.
Google’s AI is using content even from publishers who opted out, raising ethical concerns during antitrust hearings.
Content Usage Revelations
During recent antitrust hearings, Google’s AI research lab VP Eli Collins confirmed that the company’s search team continues to use publisher content for AI Overviews, even when publishers have explicitly opted out of training the Gemini model [1]. This revelation comes after internal documents from August 2024 showed that Google had removed 50% of its training tokens following publisher opt-outs [1]. The AI Overviews feature, which launched on May 14, 2024 [2], has been significantly impacting publisher traffic and raising serious concerns about content rights.
Impact on Publishers and Traffic
The implications for publishers are substantial, with Gartner predicting organic traffic could decrease by 25% by 2026 due to AI Overviews [2]. This prediction is particularly concerning as industry experts, including Elisa Gabbert, Director of Content and SEO at WordStream, warn that AI Overviews will reduce clicks to organic links more dramatically than previous ad-heavy search results pages [2]. The situation has already led to legal action, with education company Chegg filing a lawsuit against Google in early May 2025, claiming the feature has severely disrupted their revenue model [1].
Technical Implementation and Limitations
Google’s AI Overview system operates through the Vertex AI platform, utilizing a 2,000,000-token context window with advanced capabilities from Gemini 2.5 models [3]. While Google states that publishers can manage their content in Search via the robots.txt standard [1], there is currently no mechanism for publishers to specifically block AI Overviews without also blocking general search indexing [1]. This technical limitation has created a challenging situation where publishers must choose between complete Google visibility or none at all.
Future Implications and Industry Response
The controversy has led to eroding trust in Google Search, with industry experts like Danny Goodwin of Search Engine Land suggesting users may begin seeking alternative search platforms [2]. Currently, 79% of consumers expect to use AI-enhanced search within the next year, while 70% express some trust in generative AI search results [2]. However, the system has faced criticism for occasionally citing outdated or inaccurate sources [2], raising questions about the reliability and accountability of AI-generated content in search results.