Clash of the titans: Lords vs the Government

AI disruptions, the sunset of the Google Antitrust trial, and Substack's new approach. All this and more in this week's Content Aware.

Published: 15:13, 15 May 2025

Corbidge comments on...the Google guessing game
Google's AI-powered search feature, AI Overviews, made search results more unpredictable, less reliable and overall harder to understand. Our resident content connoisseur discusses a recent study which reveals how different users interact with it and how easily manipulated it is which leads to a rise in exploitative SEO as publishers try to get an advantage.
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Lords push AI copyright transparency
In a significant move, the UK House of Lords has backed an amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill which would require AI companies to reveal the sources they use to train their AI models. This marks a major pushback against the UK's current hands-off approach to AI and copyright and the outcome may shape the future balance between AI innovation and IP rights. This event, as well as the recent firing of the head of the US copyright office, showcase the ongoing battle between copyright law, innovation, and political agendas, with transparency and protection for creators on one side and on the other a more lenient stance on copyright enforcement. We might have to wait a bit longer for clarity and agreement between the two sides. Read

SoundCloud sparks outrage over AI music use
SoundCloud is under fire after it quietly updated its TOS to permit the use of user-uploaded music to train AI models. Even though the change happened in 2024, it prompted concern from independent artists but it also sheds light on why so many many media and publishing businesses are as cautions as they are when it comes to AI. This is yet another example of how bad the audience blowback is if AI is handled badly, and we could all learn a lesson here.
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From print to powerhouse, Die Zeit shows how it's done
The German brand Die Zeit shows what's possible when a traditional news brand commits to innovation, with a focus on digital growth, brand extensions, and a strong editorial investment strategy. They encouraged experimentation but also embraced failure, showcasing that growth doesn't just come from cutting costs but building products and engaging audiences in different ways.
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Google's antitrust trial: the end is nigh
As Google's antitrust trial is wrapping up, with a decision expected in August, Ars Technica's Ryan Whitwam is bringing a summary of the remedies, changes, and appeals as well as potential consequences for the search landscape.
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AI disruption: how search is changing
We all feel like AI tools such as ChatGPT and AI Overviews are hurting traffic and user habits - but it's hard to know exactly how. Well, research from all sides is growing quickly. The recent news from Apple that they had seen a drop in Google searches for the first time ever in Safari actually caused a dip in Google's share price, so the market jury is certainly still out on Google's venture into the technology.
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Substack and the shift in media power
Trust and audience relationships are at the core of today's publishing strategies, and key to taking back power from the big search and social firms. Take a look at how Substack's Co-Founder Hamish McKenzie talks about the exact same themes and the novel return to the concept of a walled garden - which, this time, the creatives of the world will own.
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Google's AI Overviews are easy to game
Where there's a will, there's a way. GenAI-enabled search can be manipulated to drive traffic and it's almost terrifyingly easy. To quote from esteemed SEO mythbuster Lily Ray's latest bulletin: "If you create an article ranking companies, and call yourself 'the best.' AI Overviews will apparently cite you as 'the best'." Dumb and dumber. There is more and more evidence each day that we are heading towards an AI-driven search meltdown.
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Is Google forgetting your pages?
Nobody likes when their pages are being forgotten by Google or deindexed. A recent study by Indexing Insight reveals some interesting findings about Google's active crawl queue, and how to keep your content fresh, relevant and visible.
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FTC "click-to-cancel" confusion
The US Federal Trade Commission's two-month delay of the "click to cancel" rule which was due to go into effect yesterday (May 14th) has publisher subscription management teams in whiplash. The rule made torturous gym-membership-style unsub processes illegal, and harassed subs teams jumping through compliance hoops to make sure they all complied. Despite the delay, we recommend adopting the safest standpoint as the fines could still be hefty. See you in two months...
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Google’s hated “no AI = no SERPs” rule exposed
The Google T&C which made rejection of its AI scraper bots also exclude your site from search engine crawl is arguably one of the most disliked by content businesses and publishers. We've always said it was a fine or lawsuit waiting to happen, and it looks like that may come to pass. Buried in the US vs Google antitrust trial evidence was insight into how the rule came about, and why Google knew fine well it placed site owners in a terrible dilemma. Press Gazette digs deeper.
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