Penske Media Corporation, the parent company of Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter, has filed a lawsuit against Google, becoming the first major US media company to challenge the tech giant’s AI Overviews feature. The company alleges that Google’s AI-generated search summaries are significantly reducing website traffic and revenue by providing answers directly in search results, eliminating the need for users to click through to original sources.
The lawsuit claims that AI Overviews illegally benefit from Penske’s journalistic work while causing tangible financial harm. According to court documents, revenue from affiliate links has dropped by over one-third this year, a decline directly attributed to reduced traffic from Google searches. This case represents a critical moment in the ongoing tension between AI companies and content creators.
Penske Media is not alone in its concerns. Online education company Chegg filed a similar lawsuit in February, followed by a group of European publishers. The News/Media Alliance has condemned AI Overviews as “the definition of theft” and is seeking Department of Justice intervention.
Google defends the feature, with spokesperson José Castañeda stating that “people find search more helpful and use it more” with AI Overviews. However, publishers argue that the practice leaves them with an impossible choice: either block Google from indexing their content—effectively disappearing from search results—or continue providing free training material for AI systems that threaten their business model.
This legal action occurs amidst growing antitrust scrutiny of Google and follows similar lawsuits against other AI companies, including cases brought by News Corp, Encyclopedia Britannica, and major newspaper publishers against Microsoft and OpenAI. The outcome could set important precedents for how AI companies compensate content creators in the future.
