Reddit chief executive Steve Huffman has questioned whether Google’s AI Overviews are delivering sufficient benefits to publishers and other businesses, arguing that users increasingly want human discussion rather than AI-generated summaries. His comments matter because Reddit and many publishers rely on search referrals, while AI summaries may reduce the need for users to click through to original sources.

Reddit has a reported $60 million licensing agreement with Google but is reportedly considering ending it; other publishers, including Reuters and The Economist, are also said to be reconsidering their relationships with the company. A Pew study of 900 US adults found AI Overviews nearly halved referrals compared with traditional search links, although Google disputes the methodology and says organic clicks to websites have remained broadly stable year on year.