Google's AI-powered search features are facing a formal complaint in the European Union, with critics arguing the technology threatens to drain web traffic from publishers and other content creators. The complaint, filed with EU regulators, targets the way Google's generative AI summaries pull information directly into search results, potentially reducing the need for users to click through to original sources.
Why the AI features are under fire
Google's search generative experience, or SGE, uses large language models to produce concise answers at the top of search results. For queries like product reviews or how-to guides, the AI often synthesizes information from multiple websites into a single paragraph. Publishers worry that this convenience for users comes at their expense: fewer clicks mean less ad revenue and less incentive to produce original content.
The complaint argues that Google is using its dominant position in search to favor its own AI-generated content over organic links. This, the complainants say, violates EU competition rules designed to ensure a level playing field online. The exact identity of the complainant hasn't been disclosed, but it's believed to represent a coalition of news publishers and online content creators.
What's at stake for web traffic
Early data from third-party analytics firms suggests that AI-generated search summaries can reduce click-through rates by as much as 20% for certain types of queries. For websites that rely on search traffic for the bulk of their audience, that's a significant hit. The concern is particularly acute for news organizations, which already face declining ad revenues and subscription fatigue.
Google has defended the feature, arguing that it helps users find information faster and that it still links to sources within the summaries. But critics counter that the links are often buried or less prominent, and that users rarely click through when they get the answer they need right on the search results page.
Alphabet's position
Alphabet, Google's parent company and the second-largest company by market capitalization, has a lot riding on the outcome. The company holds a roughly 9% share of the global digital advertising market, and search ads remain its primary revenue driver. If EU regulators side with the complainants, Google could be forced to modify or even remove the AI summary feature in Europe.
The company has previously argued that AI summaries improve the search experience and that it has taken steps to ensure traffic to websites remains healthy. But the complaint adds to a growing list of regulatory headaches for Alphabet in Europe, including ongoing antitrust cases related to its advertising technology and shopping services.
What happens next
The European Commission will now review the complaint to decide whether to open a formal investigation. That process could take months. If the commission finds merit in the allegations, it could impose interim measures requiring Google to change its search behavior while the investigation proceeds. For now, publishers and content creators are watching closely, hoping the EU will act to protect the open web from what they see as another power grab by a tech giant.
