Overview

• The Rolling Stone, Variety and Billboard owner filed a federal antitrust complaint in Washington, D.C., the first major U.S. publisher suit targeting Google's AI Overviews in Search.
• Penske alleges Google conditions inclusion in Search on allowing use of its journalism in AI summaries and for training, leveraging a near‑90% U.S. search share to avoid licensing.
• The complaint says roughly 20% of searches that would link to Penske sites now show AI Overviews and claims affiliate revenue fell by more than a third since late 2024 as clicks declined.
• Google rejects the allegations as meritless, saying AI Overviews broaden discovery and send traffic to a wider range of sites; a senior policy executive also said users increasingly seek contextual answers.
• Industry groups and studies cited in coverage, including Pew Research, report sharp drop‑offs in clickthroughs when AI summaries appear, and prior litigation such as Chegg’s case underscores growing legal pressure.