Google’s expanded AI Mode is under fire from leading U.S. news publishers, who say the feature is threatening their traffic and revenue by repackaging their content without permission. The News/Media Alliance, a trade group representing major American publishers, sharply criticized Google’s move, calling it “the definition of theft.”
At the center of the dispute is Google’s new AI-powered search interface, announced Tuesday at Google I/O and now rolling out to all U.S. users. Instead of displaying traditional search results, Google’s AI Mode provides chatbot-style answers, along with a short list of links, in a dedicated Search tab. While those links offer some visibility, publishers say the format reduces click-throughs and undermines original reporting.
“Links were the last redeeming quality of search that gave publishers traffic and revenue,” said Danielle Coffey, CEO and president of the News/Media Alliance. “Now Google just takes content by force and uses it with no return. The DOJ remedies must address this to prevent continued domination of the internet by one company.”
Opt-Out or Lose Traffic: The Impossible Choice for Publishers
The backlash follows new revelations in Google’s ongoing antitrust trial. According to internal documents reported by Bloomberg, Google decided not to seek permission from publishers before using their content to train or power its AI features. Instead, publishers are being told they must opt out of Google Search entirely if they don’t want their work included in AI-generated results—a move that would cut them off from nearly all online visibility.
Google Search chief Liz Reid defended the decision, arguing that allowing opt-outs for individual AI features would introduce “enormous complexity.” In her testimony, she explained, “By saying a publisher could be like, ‘I want to be in this feature but not that feature,’ it doesn’t work. Because then we would essentially have to say, every single feature on the page needs a different model.”
That logic isn’t sitting well with publishers, who view the approach as an ultimatum—either allow Google to repurpose your journalism for AI summaries or vanish from search altogether.
The Stakes for the Open Web
The Google AI Mode backlash comes at a time when publishers are already grappling with shrinking ad revenue, increased competition from platforms like Facebook and TikTok, and an uncertain legal landscape around AI content use. The News/Media Alliance argues that without fair compensation or control over how their content is used, AI-enhanced search results risk gutting the digital publishing ecosystem.
Industry experts warn that this tension will only escalate as generative AI becomes more deeply embedded in search. With billions of dollars and the future of the open web on the line, the fight between publishers and tech giants like Google is far from over.
