Google Launches AI Overviews and AI Mode in France After Delays

Google Launches AI Overviews and AI Mode in France After Delays

AI-generated summaries placed at the top of results

On Wednesday, July 22, 2026, Google officially began rolling out AI Overviews and AI Mode in France. Now, when a user enters a query into the search engine, a few lines of AI-generated response may appear at the top of the results page, in a dedicated box. This feature is feared by publishers, who worry about a massive drop in traffic.

A "new intelligent search field"

At the same time, Google is also deploying its new intelligent search field in France, a completely revamped version of its search bar. This new interface automatically resizes based on the length of the query, now supports files, images, and videos in addition to text, and suggests AI-generated rephrasing to refine an imprecise question. Google assures that users will continue to receive a wide range of results, as before.

A feared drop in traffic for publishers

Until now, France was one of the few markets not benefiting from these AI-generated summaries, already used by over 2 billion users each month. This blockage was related to neighboring rights, a legal framework requiring platforms to compensate news publishers for the use of their content. Google has been reminded of this issue several times.

At the end of June, a letter sent to publishers and revealed by Ouest-France formalized a compromise aimed at lifting this regulatory barrier. Google made several commitments:

• Allow French publishers to remove their content from AI Overviews without penalizing their ranking in search results.
• Pay compensation to the 450 media outlets under contract with the American company when their content is included in AI Overviews.

However, these commitments may seem insufficient to publishers, who fear significant drops in traffic. Indeed, users may no longer need to click on an external link to find answers to their questions.

In the UK, a study by Authoritas revealed a 47.5% drop in click-through rates on desktop and a 37.7% drop on mobile as soon as an AI-generated summary rises to the top of the results. In Germany, AI Overviews have caused a 25 to 30% erosion in the top links on the results page, according to an analysis by Sistrix. Google defended its position by stating that it continues to send billions of clicks per day to the web without observing the drastic traffic declines alleged.