Google's push to turn Search into an AI answer engine is creating a serious problem for the publishers it depends on for content. Some of them are now openly considering blocking Google entirely.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Reddit, USA Today, Reuters, Politico, The Economist, and People Inc. are all reconsidering how much access they give Google as referral traffic continues to collapse. The core issue is Google's AI Overviews, which answer search queries directly on the results page, removing the need to click through to the source.
Popular Now: 10,000mAh and 25W wireless charging have been squeezed into a 0.5-inch power bankSemrush data shows Google-driven organic traffic to USA Today's US site fell by nearly half between June 2025 and June 2026. Politico was down 23%, CNN lost around 25%, and Business Insider's traffic dropped more than 85%.
"It's time to take a stand and say enough is enough," said USA Today CEO Mike Reed, who added that blocking Google entirely is on the table if the decline continues. USA Today is also already suing Google over an alleged ad-tech monopoly.
Reddit signed a $60 million per year licensing deal with Google in 2024, giving the search giant access to its enormous archive for AI training. That deal is now up for renewal, and Reddit is reportedly weighing whether it still makes sense. CEO Steve Huffman has made clear he understands the leverage Reddit holds.
"There is no artificial intelligence without actual intelligence, and that comes from Reddit," he told analysts on the company's Q1 earnings call. Executives are reportedly pushing for usage-based fees that scale as Reddit's content becomes more central to AI-generated search. Reddit shares fell nearly 9% following the WSJ report. Wells Fargo warned the company could lose up to $500 million in AI licensing revenue if it walks away from Google.
Google currently bundles its web crawling for traditional search indexing and its AI training into the same systems. Publishers can opt out of having their content used for Gemini training through Google-Extended, but preventing content from appearing in AI Overviews risks losing visibility in conventional search results too.
In June, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority ordered Google to let publishers opt out of AI search features without losing their place in traditional results. Google says it will test that approach in Britain before rolling it out globally, but has not given a timeline.
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Google, for its part, insists its AI features still send billions of clicks to the web every week and that it offers clear controls for publishers to manage their content. Publishers are increasingly questioning the logic of an arrangement in which their work trains the systems that are replacing their traffic.
