Penske Media Becomes First Major U.S. Publisher to Sue Google Over AI Overviews

Penske Media sues Google over AI Overviews: What PR and communications leaders need to know

Penske Media, owner of Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Variety, has sued Google, alleging the company uses its journalism to generate AI Overviews in search without paying-and that the feature is siphoning traffic and revenue. The case argues that publishers are forced to accept inclusion in AI summaries or risk lower visibility.

Why this matters

This is the first major U.S. publisher to directly challenge AI Overviews. If traffic continues to shift from clicks to summary consumption, media partners will be under pressure, and brand coverage may reach fewer readers. PR teams should expect tougher negotiations with publishers, more scrutiny on performance, and new expectations from executives about measurable reach.

What the lawsuit claims

• Google's near-90% share of search lets it avoid paying for content that powers AI-generated summaries, while competitors have signed licensing deals.
• AI Overviews appear on roughly 20% of searches that link to Penske properties.
• Penske attributes a one-third drop in affiliate revenue by late 2024 to AI Overviews.
• MailOnline reported a 56% decline in click-through rate tied to AI Overviews.

What Google says

Google's response: AI Overviews make search more helpful and drive traffic to more sites, and the company plans to defend against the claims.

The bigger picture

This is the second lawsuit seeking compensation for traffic and revenue losses attributed to AI Overviews; Chegg filed a similar case earlier this year. Expect more legal and policy action from publishers if performance pressure continues.

What PR and comms teams should do now

• Brief leadership: Set expectations that zero-click behavior may rise and some coverage will get fewer site visits even as impressions grow.
• Rebalance KPIs: Track impressions, branded search lift, mentions, newsletter signups, and social engagement alongside referral traffic.
• Audit search exposure: Monitor how priority topics render in SERPs-news carousels, AI Overviews, FAQs, and featured summaries. Document which queries surface your brand or executive quotes.
• Protect attribution: Use clear headlines, named sources, and unique data points to increase citation likelihood. Ensure technical SEO basics and structured elements (titles, descriptions, schema) are clean.
• Diversify distribution: Pair earned coverage with owned channels (email, site, social) and syndication partners to reduce single-channel dependency.
• Rethink affiliate-heavy stories: If affiliates drive material revenue, coordinate with commerce editors and partners to time releases and track channel-level impact.
• Strengthen publisher relationships: Offer exclusive data, expert access, and assets that are harder to summarize without linking.
• Scenario plan: Prepare statements for stakeholders if traffic dips after major Google updates. Build a fast feedback loop with analytics and SEO to adjust campaigns within days, not weeks.

Metrics to watch

• Impressions vs. clicks for branded and non-branded queries tied to key campaigns.
• Referral mix from Google News, Top Stories, and standard web results.
• Presence of your brand or executives inside AI Overviews for target queries.
• Affiliate revenue by channel and by campaign, with year-over-year context.

What this means for your next launch

Build stories that travel beyond a single click: original research, proprietary charts, and quotable insights. Package assets for journalists and for direct audiences. If summaries pull the highlights, your brand should still be the source people cite, share, and search for.

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