The EU has launched an investigation into Google over its artificial intelligence (AI) summaries that appear above search results.
The European Commission said it would look into whether the firm used data from websites to provide the service and whether it failed to offer publishers “appropriate compensation”.
It will also investigate how YouTube videos could be used to improve broader artificial intelligence systems and whether content creators could opt out.
A Google spokesperson said the investigation “risks stifling innovation in a market that is more competitive than ever.”
“Europeans deserve to benefit from the latest technology, and we will continue to work closely with the news and creative industries as they move into the age of artificial intelligence,” they said.
The EU investigation will also cover Google's artificial intelligence mode, which gives people answers in a conversational style with some links to other pages.
It is an addition to the tech giant's existing search platform, providing capabilities similar to its competitors such as ChatGPT.
Google's introduction of artificial intelligence reviews has been met with concerns that it could lead to fewer website visitors.
If people don't click on web pages, sites make less money from advertising.
The Daily Mail previously claimed that the number of people clicking on its links from Google search results had dropped by around 50% since Google introduced its artificial intelligence review feature.
The commission said it was concerned that both web publishers and YouTube video creators were not being compensated or given the opportunity to opt out of having their content used to train the company's artificial intelligence models.
Ed Newton-Rex of AI justice campaign Fairly Trained said it was “career suicide” for people not to publish their work on YouTube or online.
He told the BBC that Google is “essentially making it a condition” of online publishing that the firm can “use your work to create artificial intelligence that competes with you.”
“This investigation could not come at a more critical time for authors around the world,” he said.
The move was also welcomed by Rose Curling, co-chief executive of campaign group Foxglove, who in June called on the Commission to address the impact of artificial intelligence reviews on independent media organisations.
But she said “clear and present” dangers to journalism and democracy remain.
“We urgently need to divest news publishers to stop Google from stealing their reporting today, not after the investigation is complete,” she said.
“Otherwise, by the time the Commission is ready to act, there will be little left.”
The Commission's investigation centers on whether Google used other people's work published online to create its own artificial intelligence tools from which it can profit.
Its generative AI systems are capable of generating text, images and video in seconds in response to simple text prompts.
Many firms can now do this, and they have used vast amounts of online content to train their core systems.
But creative people have expressed concern that their work could form the basis of big tech companies' AI products and outputs, to the detriment of their own rights or livelihoods.
“A free and democratic society depends on diverse media, open access to information and a vibrant creative landscape,” said Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera.
She said AI brings “remarkable innovation” and “many benefits for people and businesses” but its growth should not come at the expense of EU values.
But the Commission's recent introduction of its tough digital rules, which could see tech companies face huge fines if they break them, has been met with outrage from US lawmakers.
Platform X Elon Musk The Commission's account for advertising is blocked on the site after the EU imposed a €120 million (£105 million) fine over blue verification badges.
