European Publishers File Antitrust Complaint Against Google’s AI Overviews

The European Publishers Council (EPC) has filed a formal antitrust complaint with the European Commission (EC) against Google and its parent company, Alphabet Inc., alleging anti-competitive practices related to the deployment of AI Overviews and AI Mode within Google Search. The complaint centers on concerns that Google is leveraging journalistic content without proper authorization, remuneration, or effective opt-out mechanisms, ultimately impacting traffic and revenue for news organizations.

Complaint Details and Allegations

The EPC argues that Google is abusing its dominant position in the general search market, violating Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). According to the EPC, Google’s AI-powered features – AI Overviews (AI summaries) and AI Mode – transform Search from a referral service to an “answer engine” that directly incorporates AI-generated responses, thereby substituting original publisher content and retaining users within the Google ecosystem.

A key concern is Google’s reliance on high-quality journalistic content for training its artificial intelligence models, retrieval augmented generation, and output generation. The EPC contends that professionally produced news content is particularly valuable to AI systems due to its accuracy, timeliness, and structured format.

Concerns Over Content Usage and Compensation

Publishers are concerned that Google is utilizing their content without providing adequate mechanisms for them to prevent such use, nor offering fair compensation. Christian Van Thillo, Chairman of the EPC, stated that the complaint aims to prevent a dominant market player from exploiting publishers’ content without consent, fair remuneration, and effective protection. As reported by SiliconRepublic, Van Thillo emphasized that the issue isn’t about resisting innovation but about ensuring a fair ecosystem.

The EPC believes that the current situation creates a “vicious circle” where publishers are compelled to allow Google to track and reproduce their content for AI functions to maintain visibility in search results. Reuters reports that Van Thillo explained that opting out of AI usage could lead to a significant loss of visibility that most publishers cannot afford.

European Commission Investigation

This complaint complements the European Commission’s existing antitrust investigation, launched in December 2025, into Google’s use of web publishers’ content for AI training purposes. The EPC welcomes this investigation, viewing it as a timely step towards addressing the concerns raised by publishers.

Google’s Response

Google has rejected the accusations, dismissing the EPC’s arguments as “inaccurate statements” and characterizing the complaint as an attempt to hinder the development of useful new AI features.

Key Takeaways

• The EPC has filed an antitrust complaint against Google over its use of publisher content in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
• The complaint alleges abuse of market dominance and violations of EU competition rules (Article 102 TFEU).
• Publishers are seeking fair compensation, effective opt-out mechanisms, and greater control over how their content is used for AI training.
• The European Commission is already investigating Google’s AI practices.