Publishers Label Google's AI Model as 'Theft'

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News Publishers Criticize Google's Expanded AI Mode

In a bold move, a prominent trade association representing some of the largest news publishers in the U.S. has publicly criticized Google’s recently expanded AI Mode. The feature, which replaces traditional search results with an AI chatbot-like interface, has sparked significant controversy. According to a statement released on Wednesday, the News/Media Alliance accused Google of "stealing" traffic and revenue from publishers. At Google I/O on Tuesday, the tech giant announced that AI Mode will now be available to all users in the U.S., appearing as a new tab directly within the search engine. When users type in a query, the tool generates an AI-powered response along with a list of relevant links. For publishers, this shift has been a major blow. “Links were the last thing publishers had going for them—giving us traffic and revenue,” said Danielle Coffey, CEO and president of the News/Media Alliance, in the statement. “Now Google just takes content by force and uses it without giving anything back. That’s theft, plain and simple. The Department of Justice must address this issue to stop one company from monopolizing the internet.”

Related Developments

• Google rejected giving publishers more choice to opt out of AI Search
• AI Mode is obviously the future of Google Search

According to an internal document revealed during Google’s ongoing antitrust trial over its search dominance, the company chose not to ask publishers for permission before incorporating their content into AI search features. Instead, publishers must actively opt out of search results entirely if they wish to exclude their content from AI-based searches. Liz Reid, head of Google Search, testified during the trial that allowing publishers to selectively opt out of individual features would create “enormous complexity.” She explained, “If publishers could say, ‘I want to be in this feature but not that one,’ it wouldn’t work. Essentially, we’d have to create a separate model for every single feature on the page.” This stance has left many publishers frustrated, as it effectively removes their ability to control how their content is used.

What Does This Mean for Publishers?

As AI Mode continues to roll out across the U.S., publishers are left grappling with the implications. While some see AI search as an inevitable evolution of technology, others argue that it undermines the economic foundation of journalism. Without proper safeguards or compensation mechanisms, the fear is that publishers will continue to lose out to the dominant tech giant.

With the DOJ closely monitoring these developments, the coming months will likely bring further scrutiny—and possibly regulation—of how major platforms like Google handle copyrighted content.

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