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Chegg, an online education platform, has filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Google, alleging that the tech giant's AI-generated search summaries are significantly damaging its traffic and revenue.
The lawsuit, filed on February 24, 2025, in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., marks the first antitrust case by an individual company against Google's AI Overviews feature.
Chegg claims that Google's AI-powered summaries, which appear at the top of search results, are diverting potential visitors away from its website. The company argues that Google is leveraging its dominant position in search to benefit from third-party content without proper compensation. Chegg CEO Nathan Schultz stated that the lawsuit extends beyond their company, addressing concerns about the digital publishing sector and the future of online search.
The education technology firm reported a 24% year-over-year decline in total net revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024, attributing this downturn to Google's AI Overviews. As a result, Chegg is now exploring strategic alternatives, including the possibility of being acquired or going private.
Google, however, maintains that its AI Overviews enhance the search experience and create new opportunities for content discovery. The company argues that it sends billions of clicks to various websites daily and that AI Overviews actually increase traffic to a wider range of sites.
This legal battle highlights growing tensions between publishers and AI-driven search tools, as companies push back against what they perceive as unfair competition. The outcome of this lawsuit could have far-reaching implications for the digital publishing industry and the future of internet search, potentially reshaping how AIgenerated content is used and compensated in search results.
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