Penske Media, the parent company of Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Variety, has filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the tech giant of using its journalism without consent through AI Overviews and siphoning traffic away from its platforms.
The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Washington, DC, marks the first time a major U.S. publisher has sued Google over its AI-generated summaries.
-
Penske claims Google’s AI Overviews reduce website traffic, which erodes advertising and subscription revenue.
-
The company said Google only includes publishers’ content in search results if it can also use their articles in AI summaries.
-
Penske added that this is unfair, pointing to Google’s dominance in the U.S. search market (nearly 90%), as found by a federal court.
-
The publisher noted that about 20% of Google searches now show AI Overviews, and this has already caused its affiliate revenue to drop by more than a third compared to 2024 levels.
Google’s Response
Google rejected the claims, saying AI Overviews improve user experience and help send traffic to a wider variety of websites.
“With AI Overviews, people find Search more helpful and use it more, creating new opportunities for content to be discovered. We will defend against these meritless claims,” — Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda.
Industry Impact
-
Penske Media, led by Jay Penske, attracts more than 120 million online visitors monthly.
-
The lawsuit comes after Chegg sued Google in February 2025, claiming AI summaries hurt demand for original content.
-
Industry experts argue that Google’s dominance allows it to bypass the licensing deals that other AI firms like OpenAI have signed with publishers such as News Corp, Financial Times, and The Atlantic.
Danielle Coffey, CEO of the News/Media Alliance, said publishers are left vulnerable because they cannot opt out of Google’s AI Overviews.
“When you have the massive scale and market power that Google has, you are not obligated to abide by the same norms. That is the problem.”
📌 Stay Connected With Us
👉 Follow us on Facebook: Pulse Daily News
👉 Follow us on Instagram: @pulse_dailynews
