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Edtech company Chegg has sued Google, accusing the technology giant's AI search summaries of damaging its website traffic and sales. The complaint, which was filed in the US District Court of Columbia, alleges unfair competition, monopolistic practices, reciprocal dealing, and unjust enrichment against Google.
Chegg argues that Google forces companies to make their content accessible so that Google Search can index it. The Edtech company further accuses the search engine of leveraging its market power to profit from third-party intellectual property.
Google's AI summaries pull content from its platform. The company believes this will reduce direct traffic and affect ad revenue and subscription services. The Chegg lawsuit seeks compensatory damages. It also aims for an injunction against what the company refers to as Google's ‘unlawful and unfair’ conduct.
Chegg is not alone in its grievance. Several publishers and news organizations have objected to Google's AI summaries. The feature gives explicit answers to search queries by aggregating information from numerous sources. Most claim this has impacted web traffic since users no longer need to click to the original site for information.
The tech giant has not officially responded to Chegg's allegations yet. Although previously, it has defended its application for Google AI to search by enhancing user experience while crediting sources.
The Chegg vs Google case points to the increasing conflict between creators and AI search engines. It also highlights concerns over fair use, content ownership, and revenue loss.
The court battle has the potential to have far-reaching consequences for AI content and online competition. It could set the precedent for future AI and intellectual property rights cases.
