Rolling Stone Publisher Sues Google Over AI Summaries
AI Overviews are under fire in lawsuit from publisher Penske
Artificial intelligence is changing how people search for information, but publishers say it’s also cutting into their business. Penske Media, owner of Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Variety, has become the first major U.S. publisher to sue Google over its AI Overviews. These summaries appear at the top of search results and often provide direct answers drawn from articles written by news outlets. Readers may appreciate the convenience, but publishers argue the feature discourages clicks, reduces traffic, and threatens the revenue models that support original journalism. The lawsuit calls it a growing and unsustainable problem.
Penske’s complaint says about 20 percent of searches that link to its sites now include AI Overviews and that affiliate revenue has dropped more than a third since late 2024. It argues publishers are caught in an impossible situation: either block Google from indexing their sites and risk disappearing from search altogether, or allow it and see their work reused without compensation. Each new article, the suit claims, feeds more material into the system that undercuts the very outlets producing it, leaving journalism to absorb the costs while tech platforms reap the benefits.
Google has pushed back, saying AI Overviews make search more useful and send “higher-quality” traffic to a broader range of sites. The company also notes that links to original sources are included in its AI summaries. Still, Google has been slower than rivals like OpenAI or Anthropic to sign licensing deals with publishers, making this case a critical test. Other outlets have already sued AI firms, but Penske’s action is the first to target Google directly. The outcome could influence not just the future of Penske’s 13 publications but also how news organizations are compensated as AI becomes part of how people find information online.
Questions:
What is Penske’s main complaint about Google’s AI Overviews?
Do you think Google should compensate publishers for using their content in AI Overviews? Why or why not?
Ben Fritz, “Rolling Stone Publisher Sues Google Over AI Summaries,” The Wall Street Journal, September 13, 2025; Aditya Soni, Rolling Stone, Billboard owner Penske Sues Google over AI Overviews,” Reuters, September 13, 2025; Mike Scarcella, “Google Defends AI Search Summaries in Rolling Stone Publisher's Lawsuit,” Reuters, January 13, 2026.
