Italian news publishers have filed a formal complaint against Google’s AI Overviews feature, arguing that the search engine’s use of AI-generated summaries is undermining their businesses by drastically reducing website traffic.
FIEG, the federation representing Italian newspaper publishers, said it had lodged the complaint with Agcom, Italy’s communications regulator. The move is part of a wider European campaign coordinated by the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association to push the European Commission to open an investigation into Google under the EU’s Digital Services Act.
Publishers argue that AI Overviews — which displays a block of AI-generated text at the top of search results, summarizing information without requiring users to click through — has become a “traffic killer.” FIEG warned that the service violates key provisions of the Digital Services Act and harms Italian consumers, businesses, and media outlets by reducing visibility, discoverability, and advertising revenue.
“This has serious consequences for the economic sustainability and diversity of the media, with all the risks associated with a lack of transparency and the proliferation of disinformation in democratic debate,” the group said.
A July study by UK analytics firm Authoritas found that Google’s AI Overviews caused up to 80% fewer clickthroughs, while Pew Research Center reported users clicked on links below AI summaries only once every 100 searches. Both studies also noted that links to Google-owned YouTube were more prominent than standard search results. Google dismissed the studies as inaccurate and methodologically flawed.
AI Overviews launched in Italy in March. In September, the country became the first EU member state to approve comprehensive AI legislation in line with the EU AI Act, including restrictions on child access and criminal penalties for malicious deepfake creation.
