Publishers are damned if they do, damned if they don’t (let Google scrape their sites)
The thing about Google’s search monopoly is it also gives the company an advantage when it comes to newer businesses like generative AI.
Bloomberg writes about how publishers are in a devil’s bargain with Google: If they want to show up on Google’s dominant search platform, they have to let Google scrape their sites. But Google is using that content for its generative AI summaries, which might keep people from going to their sites anyway.
Google, however, may have just made a move that could help pacify publishers. Today the company announced that it was adding hyperlinks to the right of its sometimes wildly incorrect AI summaries, and is testing links directly within the overviews.
Google, however, may have just made a move that could help pacify publishers. Today the company announced that it was adding hyperlinks to the right of its sometimes wildly incorrect AI summaries, and is testing links directly within the overviews.
