Google is paying almost no publishers almost nothing for content used in AI answers

Google is paying roughly 100 digital publishers for content used in AI Overviews, AI Mode, and Gemini, The Information reports. Payments vary widely, from under $1,000 for small sites to over $1 million annually for one publisher, and some participants say they don't know how Google calculates them. The European Commission opened an antitrust investigation in December 2025 into whether the terms are unfair, while some larger publishers are refusing to join to push for higher rates.