The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation into Google, focusing on whether the company used publishers’ and creators’ online material to power new AI features without fair terms or compensation.
The probe targets the technology behind Google’s AI Overviews that appear above search results and the conversational "AI Mode" experience — as well as how content hosted on YouTube may have been tapped to train broader AI systems. The Commission said it will examine whether Google imposed unfair conditions on web publishers and video creators, or gave itself privileged access to content that disadvantaged rival AI developers.
What the EU is looking into
Brussels wants to know, essentially, two things: whether Google relied on third‑party content to generate its AI outputs without offering appropriate compensation, and whether publishers and creators had any real option to opt out without losing access to Google Search. The Commission framed the investigation as a probe into potential distortions of competition — for example, whether Google’s access and terms could lock competitors out of training data or reduce publishers’ traffic and revenue.
Commission chief Teresa Ribera said AI brings "remarkable innovation" but must not come at the expense of Europe’s values. Regulators will dig into both the mechanics (how data is used) and the commercial relationships (contracts and terms with publishers and creators).
Why publishers and creators are worried
Newsrooms and YouTube creators have warned that readable AI summaries and conversational answers could siphon clicks away from original reporting and videos — reducing ad revenue and the reach that sustains journalism and independent creators. Campaigners argue that, by default, publishing online has become tantamount to granting big tech permission to train models that may compete with the original creators.
Advocacy groups have called for faster, concrete protections such as an opt‑out for news publishers, while others say the probe could be decisive for creators worldwide. Some outlets reported sharp drops in clickthroughs after the rollout of AI summaries, although measuring causal effects across the web is complicated.
Google responds — and warns of collateral damage
Google pushed back, saying the investigation "risks stifling innovation in a market that is more competitive than ever" and stressing it wants Europeans to benefit from new technologies while working with the news and creative industries. The company has been rolling out features that stitch AI explanations into search, and those shifts are already changing how users interact with results.
Those product moves include the conversational AI Mode and other search experiments; Google has been iterating on how people ask and receive answers in Search and related services. For background on how Google has been layering AI into search experiences, see its recent moves on AI Mode booking features and tests around Search Live controls like floating controls and a stop‑listening toggle.(/news/google-search-live-controls)
A broader crackdown — and a history of fines
This investigation sits amid an intensifying EU campaign to rein in big tech. Brussels has levied multibillion‑euro fines against Google in recent years and opened separate probes into other firms over AI access and marketplace behavior. Regulators have also recently scrutinized policies at Meta and other platforms for how they might advantage in‑house services or restrict rivals’ access to data.
Analysts say the EU’s approach blends consumer protection, media plurality and competition law — and that remedies could range from behavioral changes and new transparency rules to structural penalties if abuses are found. The case will test how existing antitrust tools apply to training data and AI model development.
Why this matters beyond Europe
If the Commission finds competition breaches, the remedies could reshape how major AI builders negotiate with publishers and platforms globally: who gets paid, who can opt out, and how much privileged access big incumbents can claim. That would affect not just traditional newsrooms, but startups building rival models that rely on freely available web content.
For a sense of how Google is folding AI deeper into its ecosystem, you can read about Gemini’s growing integration across Google products and the tensions that raises for privacy and data use in workplace tools.(/news/gemini-deep-research-gmail-drive-integration)
The probe is at an early stage. Expect months of document requests, hearings with publishers and creators, and careful legal mapping of how EU competition rules apply to the fast‑moving world of AI training and deployment.