US judge questions Google’s AI content use in antitrust case

Image credit: Search Engine Journal

A U.S. judge on Tuesday questioned Google‘s use of publisher content for its AI answers, suggesting the tech giant might be unfairly leveraging its dominant position in the search market.

Judge Amit Mehta expressed concern during a hearing that Google’s monopoly in search could enable it to utilize publisher content for AI Overviews without providing fair compensation, potentially raising costs for rival AI companies.

The hearing aimed to determine whether to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit filed by Penske Media against Google’s AI Overview feature.

Penske Media alleges that Google employs its search monopoly to compel publishers to make their content available for AI training and subsequent answers.

Attorneys representing Google described AI Overviews as a “product improvement” and characterized the traditional exchange of content for traffic as a “vague historical course of dealing.”

Mehta noted that other artificial intelligence companies, such as OpenAI and Perplexity, typically pay for content, while Google appears to obtain content for free due to its search dominance.

Publishers retain the option to opt out of Google’s AI features, but doing so carries the risk of losing significant traffic if Google predominantly displays AI Overviews instead of conventional search results.

Jason Kint, CEO of Digital Content Next, an industry trade group, has previously voiced similar concerns regarding Google’s practices.

The judge’s skepticism highlighted potential antitrust implications surrounding how Google integrates AI into its core search product and its interactions with content publishers.

Source: Search Engine Journal