Is AI Under Fire? What Affiliate Marketers Need to Know

People have hailed AI as the future of digital marketing, but it's now under fire in Europe. The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation into Google’s use of publisher and YouTube content to train and power its AI services.

For affiliate marketers, this isn’t just a headline. This is a sign that how AI handles content, and how your site gets traffic, might shift.

What’s Happening

• Regulators are examining whether Google unfairly uses online publisher content and YouTube videos without proper compensation.
• The concern: Google may give itself privileged access to content, disadvantaging rival AI developers.
• This investigation is part of the EU’s broader crackdown on Big Tech, especially around AI and digital markets.

In short: the EU wants to know if Google is playing fair, or if its AI services are built on content taken without proper terms.

Why It Matters for Affiliate Marketers

Affiliate marketing thrives on visibility. If AI‑powered search results summarize content instead of directing traffic to your site, clicks — and commissions — can drop.

Here’s what’s at stake:

• Search Ecosystem Shift: Google’s AI summaries may reduce direct traffic to affiliate sites.
• Content Value: If regulators force Google to compensate publishers, affiliates may benefit from fairer recognition of their content.
• Competition Landscape: New rules could open space for alternative AI tools or search engines, diversifying traffic sources.
• Compliance Pressure: Affiliates must stay alert to evolving EU regulations, especially around transparency and fair use of content.

When we look at the risks and opportunities of the EU’s investigation, four themes stand out.

Traffic is the most immediate concern: AI‑generated summaries may reduce clicks to affiliate sites, but regulation could restore visibility and even compensation.

AI currently uses affiliate content without payment, but new rules could generate revenue streams if compensation frameworks are introduced.

In terms of competition, Google’s dominance limits alternatives, but this same scrutiny could open space for rival AI tools and new channels.

Finally, regulation itself brings complexity for affiliates, but clearer rules could also level the playing field and make the ecosystem fairer for everyone.

Action Points for Affiliates

So what should you do while regulators debate?

1. Monitor EU rulings: outcomes could directly affect how your content is surfaced in search.
2. Diversify traffic: don't rely solely on Google. Explore social, email, and other AI alternatives.
3. Value your content: treat your articles as assets. If compensation frameworks emerge, you’ll want to be ready.

AI under fire

AI isn’t just under fire; it’s under scrutiny.

For affiliate marketers, this is both a challenge and an opening. The EU’s investigation signals that content creators matter, and the way AI uses their work is no longer invisible.

So while regulators debate fairness, affiliates can prepare: diversify, protect, and rehearse resilience.

In the shifting landscape of AI, those who adapt will thrive.