Alphabet\u2019s Google is under mounting regulatory pressure in Europe after a coalition of independent publishers filed an antitrust complaint<\/strong> with the European Commission over its AI Overviews feature, according to documents seen by Reuters. The group also requested interim measures<\/strong> to prevent what it claims is ongoing and irreversible harm to independent journalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Google\u2019s AI Overviews are machine-generated summaries that appear at the top of search result pages across more than 100 countries. These summaries often pull from existing web content, including news articles, effectively displacing traditional hyperlinks and pushing original sources further down the page. The feature began integrating ads in May, turning it into a new revenue stream for Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Independent Publishers Alliance<\/strong>, which filed the complaint on June 30, Google is abusing its dominant position in search by using publisher content to train its large language models and populate AI Overviews without offering publishers an option to opt out\u2014unless they also forfeit visibility on search results<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The complaint argues that this practice is already causing substantial declines in traffic, readership, and revenue<\/strong> for affected publishers, especially independent news outlets. The group is calling for immediate regulatory intervention to prevent “irreparable harm” to competition and the public\u2019s access to news content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In response, Google said it continues to drive \u201cbillions of clicks\u201d to websites each day and that AI Overviews enhance user engagement by encouraging more diverse queries. \u201cSites can gain and lose traffic for many reasons, including seasonal trends and algorithm updates,\u201d the company said, dismissing the claims as speculative and lacking comprehensive data.<\/p>\n\n\n\nGoogle defends AI integration amid growing backlash<\/h2>\n\n\n\n