Google has filed a lawsuit against SerpApi for scraping search results, while simultaneously facing criticism for its own content extraction practices that have devastated publisher traffic across the web.
Key Takeaways:
- Google’s lawsuit against SerpApi comes as publishers report 60-80% traffic losses due to Google’s AI Overviews
- Data shows organic click-through rates dropped 61% for queries where AI Overviews appear
- The lawsuit coincides with multiple antitrust investigations into Google’s treatment of publisher content
Google’s Lawsuit and the Publisher Traffic Crisis
Google initiated legal action against Texas-based SerpApi on December 19, 2025, accusing the company of “circumventing security measures” and “violating the choices of websites and rightsholders.” The lawsuit targets SerpApi’s practice of scraping Google search results and reselling access to this data.
The timing of this legal action is notable, as it occurs during a period when Google faces unprecedented scrutiny over its own content extraction practices. Publishers across various sectors, including those in the gambling and affiliate marketing space, have documented severe traffic declines directly linked to Google’s AI Overviews and zero-click search results.
The Data Behind the Traffic Collapse
The impact on publishers has been substantial and measurable. According to Seer Interactive’s September 2025 study analyzing 25.1 million organic impressions, click-through rates have plummeted 61% for queries where AI Overviews appear—dropping from 1.76% to just 0.61%.
Education platform Chegg saw non-subscriber traffic fall 49% in January 2025 alone, leading to a 90% market value loss. Their CEO Nathan Schultz directly stated: “Traffic is being blocked from ever coming to Chegg because of Google’s AIO and their use of Chegg’s content to keep visitors on their own platform.”
HubSpot, once a model for SEO-driven content marketing, experienced a catastrophic 70-80% traffic decline, with monthly visits dropping from 13.5 million to just 6 million in early 2025.
For gambling affiliates and casino review sites, these trends mirror similar traffic losses, with many seeing their carefully crafted comparison content and betting guides now summarized directly in Google’s AI Overviews, eliminating the need for users to click through.
Regulatory Pressure Mounting
Google’s lawsuit against SerpApi comes amid intensifying regulatory scrutiny:
- In April 2025, a U.S. District Court found Google liable for monopolizing digital advertising markets
- The European Commission launched a formal antitrust investigation in December 2025 into Google’s use of publisher content for AI Overviews
- Penske Media Corporation filed an antitrust lawsuit in September 2025 alleging Google coerces publishers into providing content without compensation
The Zero-Click Search Economy
The fundamental shift toward zero-click search has profound implications for affiliate marketers in the gambling sector. With 60% of Google searches now ending without any click to external websites, the traditional model of driving qualified traffic to casino partners faces an existential threat.
Position 1 rankings, once the gold standard for gambling affiliates, now deliver 34.5% fewer clicks when AI Overviews appear. The overall organic CTR for top positions has collapsed from 28% to 19% following the expansion of AI-generated answers.
Survival Strategies for Affiliates
For gambling affiliates watching this lawsuit unfold, diversification has become essential. Building direct relationships with players through email lists, social media audiences, and community platforms provides stability that algorithmic distribution cannot. Every casino signup or sports betting registration should include efforts to capture direct contact information.
The regulatory landscape may also create new opportunities or protections. Affiliates should monitor the EU investigation, U.S. antitrust cases, and publisher lawsuits that could reshape how Google operates in the coming years.
While Google positions itself as protecting publisher rights in its lawsuit against SerpApi, the company’s own practices continue to extract value from publisher content while reducing the traffic those publishers need to survive—a contradiction that has particular significance for the traffic-dependent business model of gambling affiliates.
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