Turkey Opens Probe Into Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode

What happened

Türkiye's Competition Authority launched an investigation into Google's artificial intelligence services on 2 November, citing concerns that AI-generated summaries could be reducing traffic to news websites, according to Hürriyet Daily News. The probe covers two features: AI Overviews, which shows summary answers at the top of search results, and AI Mode, a more interactive conversation with the search engine. Google introduced both features in Türkiye in February 2026, according to Türkiye Today.

Daily Sabah reports that the investigation was opened under Article 41 of the Law on the Protection of Competition, Law No. 4054, to determine whether Google breached Article 6 of the same law through these features. The probe asks three broad questions: whether the features have changed how users reach information and whether that has hurt traffic to publishers, whether they shut out publishers and AI chat assistants, and whether Google treats publishers differently when it selects content or agrees licences.

The interim measures

Türkiye Today reports that the board found evidence of potentially discriminatory and exploitative practices had reached the level of strong suspicion, which led it to order interim measures. Under those measures, Google must set conditions that prevent discrimination among publishers and reflect the economic value of the content it uses in its AI services. Publishers must also be able to decide whether their material appears in AI Overviews and AI Mode without that choice affecting their visibility and indexing in other Google services.

The measures apply while the investigation continues. The Competition Authority's statement, as reported, describes them as protecting publishers, not as a penalty. The probe covers a group of companies, not only the US parent. According to FourWeekMBA's account of the announcement, the economic unit includes Alphabet Inc, Google Ireland Limited, Google LLC, Google International LLC and Google Reklamcılık ve Pazarlama Ltd.

Why it matters for businesses that automate work

Global Competition Review reports that Turkey has joined counterparts in Brussels and London that are already examining how Google uses AI to summarise content in search results. That makes this one of several parallel reviews rather than a single national matter. Businesses that run automated research, news monitoring or content pipelines sit downstream of the same search results and publisher content that regulators are now examining.

The concern at the centre of the case is traffic. Daily Sabah notes that many news organisations have reported falling visits to their websites as AI Overviews spread. If fewer readers click through, the sites that automated tools read and cite may see less traffic and revenue. Over time, that can change what content is available to tools that rely on it.

What changes in practice

For most businesses, nothing changes on the day the measures apply. Search results and summaries look the same to a user in Türkiye as they did before the announcement. The practical work sits in how a business checks its own dependencies.

• List every automated tool that pulls news, search results or summaries into a report, and note the source of each item.
• Check whether any of your own web traffic, lead generation or sales reports depend heavily on Google Search clicks, and keep a monthly record.
• Ask software vendors which content sources they use and whether those sources have licence or terms restrictions.
• Keep a person in the loop for any AI summary that goes into a client document, filing or public statement, and label it as AI-generated.

Automation cannot settle the legal question. It can only show you where your own data comes from and how much of your business depends on it. A person still decides what the business does about it.

What to watch next

The next step is a final decision by the Competition Authority. The reports say that if the investigation finds an infringement, Google could face administrative fines and be required to end the conduct. The reports reviewed do not give a timetable for a final decision. Watch for the authority's own announcements at rekabet.gov.tr, and for whether Google changes how publishers can opt out of AI features in Türkiye or elsewhere.