Disclosure: Penske Media Corporation is an investor in Vox Media, the parent company of Verge.
Penske Media Corporation, publisher Rolling Stone and Hollywood Reporterbecame the first major American media company to sues Google for an AI summary. The company claims that the AI overview, which often appears at the top of search results, has little reason for users to click on the source, hurting traffic and illegally benefiting from the reporter's work.
Penske Media is the biggest name on Google for AI overview, but not the first. Online education company Chegg sued Google in February, as well as an independent European publishing group. The News/Media Alliance also talks about the feature, calling it a “definition of theft” and calls it an action from the DOJ.
Google spokesman José Castañeda defended the overview Wall Street Journal “In the AI overview, people find searching more useful and use more.” However, Penske and other publishers say there is little reason to follow the links provided in the search results, resulting in a significant drop in traffic and revenue. Penske claims revenue from affiliate links has declined more than a third of this year, directly due to a decrease in traffic from Google.
The company also claims it is in a tough situation. You can block Google from indexing your content, essentially removing itself from all search results and destroying your business even more. Alternatively, you can continue to provide Google with training materials for AI. [Penske Media Corporation] The entire publishing business,” the complaint states. Wall Street Journal.
