Google is reportedly looking to bleed publishers yet again \u2014 threatening to exclude them from a lucrative new artificial-intelligence partnership unless they allow the tech giant to train its AI bots on their valuable content.<\/p>\n
In recent months, Google has been pitching news and entertainment publishers on a new pilot program that would promote their content in Google\u2019s AI Overviews<\/a> \u2013 a big boost to organizations that have faced significant declines in web traffic, the Information reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n But in exchange, Google wants broad access to the publishers\u2019 content, including the right to potentially use it to train AI bots, a person familiar with the project told the Information. <\/p>\n Google is reportedly taking a tough stance in negotiations with publishers. SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images<\/p>\n Google, which launched its Gemini chatbots in 2023, is driving a hard bargain. <\/p>\n It warned publishers that if they don\u2019t agree to the new program, they will eventually lose out on payments from the current content-licensing arrangement, known as Showcase. Showcase is being ended, Google reportedly told some companies.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is Google\u2019s game. They\u2019re gonna dominate here,\u201d said Jason Kint, chief executive of Digital Content Next, a trade group that represents online publishers including the New York Times, the Washington Post and News Corp, The Post\u2019s owner.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no fair deal discussions that can happen with Google. It\u2019s really a matter of how much money they want to drop on an individual organization,\u201d Kint told The Post.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Google told The Post: \u201cAs people\u2019s news preferences change, we\u2019ve been expanding our partnerships through our News AI pilot program, working with a wide range of publishers to explore how AI can drive more engaged audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n The spokesperson added that Google has been \u201ctesting features\u201d to \u201chelp people cut through information overload, easily decide where to click out, and connect with news in different formats.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Publishers have complained that traffic to their websites from search results has already plummeted \u2013 some by as much as half \u2013 since Google launched its AI Overview tool<\/a> in 2024, which supplies an AI-generated summary of search results at the top of the page.<\/p>\n A Pew Research Center study found that when people see an AI Overview, they are half as likely to ever click a link from Google, and when they find an answer in an AI Overview, they are more likely to end their browsing session altogether.<\/p>\n Google CEO Sundar Pichai visits the company\u2019s new AI hub in France on Feb. 15, 2024. REUTERS<\/p>\n Google has said it continues to send billions of clicks to websites every day and that the Pew study\u2019s methodology was flawed.<\/p>\n