French publishers are trying to force Google’s newest AI products into an older regulatory framework that has already cost the company hundreds of millions of euros.
The Alliance de la presse d’information générale said Tuesday it asked France’s competition authority to intervene over Alphabet’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, arguing Google launched the services without sufficiently negotiating over the use of press content.
The products went live in France on July 22. The Alliance says publishers were offered changes to existing licensing arrangements, while opting out of AI use could reduce their visibility.
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The Alliance said communications regulator Arcom estimates AI-generated summaries have caused 33% to 38% traffic declines in European markets where such services were already active.
The case matters because Google is already operating under competition commitments governing its negotiations with French publishers.
France fined Google €500 million in 2021 over failures to comply with orders on neighboring-rights negotiations. In 2022, Google agreed to five-year commitments requiring good-faith negotiations, transparency, and protections against retaliation through search visibility.
In March 2024, the competition authority imposed another €250 million fine, including over Google’s use of publisher content for its Bard AI system without adequate disclosure.
The Alliance is now asking regulators to apply similar enforcement logic to AI search. It also points to a July 2026 ruling requiring Meta Platforms to resume neighboring-rights negotiations and provide publishers with information needed to assess compensation.
France’s competition authority has not yet announced any remedy against Google.
