Nobody needs AI to search the Internet, court says in ruling against Google

A German court has ruled that Google is liable for false statements in AI Overviews. The preliminary ruling came in case 26 O 869/26 at the Regional Court of Munich, where two publishers found that Google’s AI Overviews incorrectly linked them to scams and shady business practices.

Google tried the usual arguments to shield itself from liability, such as arguing that most users understand that AI outputs aren’t always accurate and must be verified. But the court found that, unlike traditional search engines that merely present lists of links to third-party statements, Google’s tool made “independent, new, and substantive statements” based on its own misinterpretation of links on the Internet.

Only Google can correct the underlying algorithm and outputs displayed in AI Overviews. Because the company did not, it “must be held accountable,” the court ruled. The AI overview in this case “contains statements that do not appear in the search results at all.”

The court’s order — requiring a temporary injunction barring Google from spreading the false claims — may have global implications, as the court seems to be the first to hold an AI firm liable for AI speech.

Historically, search engines have been protected from direct liability because surfacing content was considered largely unavoidable. But the German court emphasized that AI summaries merely provide “an additional function—one without which the use of the search engine would still be (and is) possible.” In other words, nobody needs AI to search the Internet.

Google faces fines up to EUR 250,000 per violation and must pay 80% of plaintiffs’ legal costs. A Google spokesperson said: “We’re carefully reviewing this decision, which is not yet final.”