Google AI summaries face French newspaper complaint

Google's AI-generated search summaries are facing a complaint in France from a federation of nearly 300 daily newspapers, which says the feature could reduce traffic to publishers' websites.

The APIG association said Tuesday it had filed the complaint with France's competition authority over Google's AI Overviews, which launched in France in late July and appear above regular search links.

APIG wants the regulator to ensure Google respects commitments made in 2022 as part of a compensation deal with French media groups. The association said Google introduced the artificial intelligence summaries without publishers' consent, which it alleged violated the agreement.

APIG president Marc Feuillee, who is also managing director of Le Figaro, said information has considerable value. The association said publishers were not seeking to stop innovation but wanted compensation for the use of their content.

The French competition authority fined Google 250 million euros, or $290 million, in 2024 for not respecting parts of the 2022 deal.

Media groups have faced falling revenue as advertising has moved online and technology companies have taken a large share of digital ad income. Critics say AI summaries may worsen the problem by giving users answers without requiring them to click through to publishers' articles.

Google says AI Overviews let people ask more complex questions and discover new content. It also says it provides controls to help publishers manage their content.

The European Union announced in December 2025 that it was investigating whether Google breached competition rules by using content posted online by media and other publishers to train and provide AI services without appropriate compensation.