Penske Media, the owner of prominent publications like Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Variety, has filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging the tech giant’s AI search features misuse its journalism without consent. The suit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., marks the first major legal challenge from a U.S. publisher against Google’s “AI Overviews,” which provide summarized answers at the top of search results. Penske claims these summaries reduce user traffic to its websites, thereby eroding critical advertising and subscription revenue.
The lawsuit contends that Google’s dominance in search, with a near 90% market share, allows it to impose unfair terms. Penske alleges that Google only includes publishers’ websites in its standard search results if it is also granted the right to use their content for its AI-generated summaries. This leverage, the company argues, prevents publishers from being compensated for their work, which is used to train AI systems and republished within the summaries themselves.
Penske, a family-owned conglomerate attracting 120 million monthly online visitors, provided specific data on the alleged harm. The company stated that approximately 20% of Google searches that link to its sites now display AI Overviews, a figure it expects to increase. This has reportedly led to a significant decline in search traffic, causing its affiliate revenue to fall by more than a third from its peak by the end of 2024.
This legal action is part of a growing backlash from content creators against AI search tools. Penske’s CEO stated the suit is a fight to “preserve the integrity” of digital media. The case echoes similar concerns raised in a February lawsuit by online education company Chegg, which also alleged that Google’s AI overviews undermine demand for original content and hurt publishers’ ability to compete.
