Google’s AI-powered search is beginning to test one of its most valuable relationships.
Reddit is reportedly considering whether to limit Google’s access to its content or revisit parts of its AI licensing agreement, according to The Wall Street Journal. The discussions reflect growing concern among publishers that Google’s AI-generated search answers increasingly compete with the very websites they rely on for information.
Investors reacted swiftly to the report, with Reddit shares falling about 8% after The Wall Street Journal said the company was weighing such a move, reflecting concerns over what a strained relationship with Google could mean for its business. The discussions mark one of the clearest signs yet that AI-powered search is reshaping the relationship between Google and the publishers whose content it depends on.
Publishers see AI Search as a competitor
While recent scrutiny of Google’s AI Search has centered on misleading responses, publishers are raising a different complaint: that the technology is becoming a competitor rather than a distributor.
For decades, publishers accepted Google’s indexing of their content because Search consistently directed readers back to their websites. But AI-generated summaries are increasingly satisfying users’ queries before they ever click a link, weakening one of digital publishing’s biggest sources of traffic.
According to The New York Post, that shift has reportedly prompted media companies including Reuters, Politico, The Economist, and USA Today to consider blocking Google from accessing and training its AI models on their site content.
The considerations are now also moving beyond a technical ban into the courtrooms. In 2023, USA Today has already filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging that the company is monopolizing digital advertising — an essential channel through which online publications generate revenue.
A special scenario for Reddit
Among the platforms reportedly considering limiting Google’s access to its content is Reddit — a company whose relationship with Google is more complicated than most publishers.
According to CNBC, Reddit signed a deal reportedly worth about $60 million per year to allow Google to use Reddit discussions. At the time, the agreement was viewed as a win for Reddit, creating a lucrative new revenue stream while also helping Google.
That may now be changing. As Google’s AI-powered Search increasingly answers users’ questions directly, Reddit could risk losing one of its biggest sources of traffic, even as its discussions continue to help Google’s AI generate responses. In other words, the same content Reddit is being paid to license could also be potentially reducing the need for users to visit Reddit in the first place.
The possibility of Reddit revisiting its relationship with Google also rattled investors. CNBC reported that the company’s shares fell 8% after the news broke.
A relationship that no longer works
Google says it continues to send billions of clicks to websites each week. It has also pointed to controls that allow publishers to opt out of AI training while remaining indexed in Google Search.
Publishers, however, increasingly argue that the issue isn’t whether Google sends traffic, but whether the long-standing exchange remains fair. For years, the relationship was straightforward: publishers allowed Google to crawl and index their content, and Google rewarded them with readers. AI-generated summaries challenge that balance.
That tension is particularly visible in Reddit’s position. While the platform reportedly earns through its AI licensing agreement with Google, it also depends on Google Search to bring users to its discussions. If AI-generated answers satisfy more searches without directing users to Reddit, the platform risks finding itself in a paradox: being paid to help train a system that could gradually reduce the value of its own audience.
The question is no longer whether publishers should appear in AI-powered search. It’s whether the traditional bargain—content in exchange for traffic—still works when AI increasingly keeps users on Google’s own platform.
Other News: A group of major publishers and bestselling author Scott Turow have filed a class-action lawsuit alleging Google used millions of copyrighted books without permission to train its Gemini AI models.