Publishers in 2025 Slam Google's AI Overviews as 'Scraper Site' Concerns Resurface
Google's AI Overviews are facing fresh criticism, with publishers in 2025 expressing more concern than they did in 2014 when Google itself was accused of being a 'scraper site'. The latest uproar follows a viral social media post by Nate Hake, minutes after Google's August 2025 spam update announcement.
AI Overviews have been accused of lacking first-hand experience and primarily summarizing others' work, with extensive automation and questionable expertise. Publishers have long been scrutinizing their accuracy, usefulness, and impact on their own traffic.
The 'great decoupling of search', with impressions up and clicks down, has been observed. Many websites have reported losing organic search traffic since Google introduced AI Overviews last year. Critics argue that these overviews take up more space at the top of search results, pushing down organic results and holding websites to standards that Google's own AI doesn't meet.
Semrush, a marketing analytics company, remains committed to providing high-quality coverage of marketing topics, despite the challenges posed by AI Overviews.
The debate surrounding Google's AI Overviews shows no signs of abating, with publishers in 2025 expressing more horror than they did in 2014. As Google continues to refine its search algorithms, the impact on publishers and the future of AI-generated content remains a hotly debated topic.
