Chegg, an online learning platform that offers textbook rentals and helps students understand their homework, has filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Google.

The company alleges in the lawsuit that the use of AI-generated summaries in search-engine results has “crushed” its website traffic and revenue.

“We are launching a strategic review process and filed a complaint against Google, which has unjustly retained traffic that has historically come to Chegg, impacting our acquisitions, revenue and employees,” Nathan Schultz, CEO of Chegg, stated in the company’s earnings report.

Schultz said Google’s AI Overviews has had a major impact on Chegg. Non-subscriber traffic fell to “negative 49% in January 2025, down significantly from the modest 8% decline we reported in Q2 2024,” per the earnings report.

“We believe this isn’t just about Chegg — it’s about students losing access to quality, step-by-step learning in favor of low-quality, unverified AI summaries,” the company noted. It’s about the digital publishing industry. It’s about the future of internet search.”

The goal now, he notes, is to “stabilize Chegg’s business in 2025.” Schultz told investors Chegg has a strong and trusted brand with millions of global subscribers, as well as a large market opportunity, and highly skilled employees.

The company announced a complaint against Google and its parent Alphabet due to the launch of AI Overviews and how it now prevents traffic that historically had come to Chegg’s site. The change has “materially impacting our acquisitions, revenue, and employees,” the company wrote.

Since the launch of Google AI Overviews, traffic is being blocked from coming to Chegg. Schultz alleged that Google keeps visitors on Google’s site, restricting the flow from ever reaching Chegg.

Goldman Sachs has been retained as the financial advisor in connection with our strategic review and Susman Godfrey with respect the complaint against Google.

The company has had both traffic gains and losses. While some publishers have expressed concerns about a potential decline in traffic and ad revenue, others have reported gains or minimal impact. 

BrightEdge reported in September 2024 that publishers “specializing in specific industries with complex topics, where users often seek in-depth explanations, are more likely to benefit from AI Overviews as Google prioritizes authoritative sources in these areas.”

For example, niche health queries saw an uptick in specialty health websites, such as a 266.7% spike on Spine-Health.com and 89.5% spike on Arthritis.org. Terms like “ACL tear symptoms” benefit from AI-generated answers. However, declines are more common. 

While MayoClinic.org rose 32.4% and the National Institutes of Health website from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services rose 83.2%, there were many websites that fell in terms of the number of citations that appeared in AI Overviews, which gives those searching the ability to click on the link through to the company’s website, according to BrightEdge data.