Google is testing payments to publishers whose content helps produce answers in Gemini, AI Overviews and AI Mode. Participants can see their earnings, but receive little information about how Google calculates them, according to Digiday.
The “AI contribution pilot” adds an earnings panel to Google Search Console. Payments depend on whether Google considers a publisher’s content to have made a significant contribution to an answer. They are not calculated simply by counting how often the content is used.
Google confirmed the pilot to Digiday, describing it as an early experiment in rewarding useful content. Publishers can opt out.
The company outlined the broader initiative in June, saying it was testing partnerships with websites that help keep AI responses accurate and up to date. The content is used for grounding, which means consulting source material when producing an answer. That is a different use from training a model. Google’s announcement did not provide payment rates or explain the calculation.
Publisher reactions have been mixed. One source told Digiday that early returns were “peanuts” compared with advertising revenue. An executive said offers were too low to justify joining. Other participants welcomed the direct payments and regular discussions with Google, despite wanting more transparency.
Those accounts do not establish typical earnings across the pilot. Digiday did not publish a standard rate or enough payout data to make that comparison.
Google has separately introduced AI performance reports in Search Console, which it says became available worldwide on August 31. They show how often a site’s pages appear in generative AI Search features, with breakdowns by page, country, date and, for Search, device.
These reports measure visibility. An appearance count alone cannot explain a payment based on the value of a contribution. A publisher would also need to know which uses qualified for payment and how Google valued them.
Google also rolled out a control for excluding content and links from generative AI Search features. The company says using it is not a ranking signal for results outside those features. Sites that opt out also lose the impressions and traffic they could receive from those AI experiences. This control is separate from participation in the payment pilot.
The payments come amid concerns about AI answers reducing visits to publishers. A Pew Research Center study of 900 US adults’ browsing in March 2025 found that users clicked traditional results on 8% of visits to search pages with an AI summary, compared with 15% on pages without one. Links within AI summaries received clicks on 1% of visits to pages containing a summary.
The study predates the pilot and does not measure its participants’ traffic or revenue. Whether Google’s payments can offset any lost business remains unproven.
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