Google has launched a new AI mode in search for all users in the US, offering chatbot-style responses and adding links to relevant resources. However, along with expanding functionality, the company has begun testing ad placements in this mode, as well as in the already familiar AI Overviews. From now on, AI responses may include not only collections of links but also advertisements marked as “sponsored” — for example, website creation tips accompanied by offers from development platforms.
Simultaneously, a wave of criticism erupted from major American publishers. The News/Media Alliance, which includes media giants like Condé Nast and Vox Media, strongly opposed the new AI mode. According to alliance representatives, Google “forcibly takes content and uses it without any return” for authors, depriving publishers of both traffic and revenue. The organization’s statement accuses this of being akin to theft and calls for intervention by US antitrust authorities.
The situation was exacerbated by documents released during an antitrust review, showing that Google consciously refused to give publishers the ability to separately control the use of their materials in AI functions. Instead, the company offered only the option of complete opt-out from search indexing, which means losing visibility to the audience at large. Internal Google communications reveal that the company considered the idea of more flexible control “unstable” and was unwilling to publicly announce changes in content access policy.
Google representatives responded by stating that publishers have always controlled access to their materials in the search engine, and the emergence of new AI-based tools promotes an increase in search queries and opens up additional opportunities for websites. However, the updated rules explicitly state that if a publisher prohibits the use of their materials in AI Overviews and AI Mode, their content will not be available in any form of search results.
