AI Overviews Google: Berlin ruling and SEO impact

The Berlin sentence in summary: what the judge ruled

On June 16, 2026, the Berlin court issued a ruling that is set to spark debate in the European digital marketing world. The case was initiated by a perfume manufacturer. It complained that the Google AI Overviews show their brand alongside low-cost imitation products, with links to competitor sites.

The judge rejected the appeal. According to the court, AI Overviews simply constitute a new search result format. Therefore, Google does not exert decisive influence over the selection and presentation of content. Essentially, the search engine is equated to an aggregator, not a responsible publisher.

This distinction is crucial. In fact, it determines the extent of Google’s legal liability in cases involving information that is inaccurate or harmful to brands. For more details on the original news story, please refer to the’complete analysis published by The Decoder.

The contrast with Monaco: a still fragmented legal landscape

The Berlin ruling does not represent a unanimous orientation. On the contrary, a Munich court had recently ruled that Google is directly liable for false or misleading AI responses. The two cases, however, present substantial differences in the disputed facts.

Despite this, the coexistence of conflicting rulings within the German legal system creates a climate of uncertainty. Companies operating online still lack a stable regulatory framework. As a result, digital brand protection strategies must be built on a flexible foundation.

At the European level, this issue is intertwined with the Digital Services Act and with the ongoing discussions on the AI Act. Therefore, it is likely that additional rulings and regulatory guidelines will emerge in the coming months. SMEs would be well advised to follow these developments closely.

How AI Overviews work and why they impact SEO

AI Overviews are automatically generated boxes by Google. They appear at the top of the search results page (SERP) and summarize answers to users' queries. They use content extracted from third-party sources indexed by the search engine.

The problem for SMEs is twofold. First of all, these boxes reduce the click-through rate to the underlying organic search results. Furthermore, they can associate a brand with incorrect information or unwanted competitors, as in the case of the perfume company cited in the ruling.

According to recent data from Gartner, traditional research volumes are destined to progressively shrink with the spread of AI interfaces. Therefore, managing presence in AI Overviews becomes a strategic front separate from classic SEO. We at SHM Studio We already track it as a separate KPI for our clients.

Immediate impact for Italian SMEs: brand safety and organic visibility

The Berlin ruling has concrete practical implications. If Google is not held responsible for content in AI Overviews, the legal recourse options for a harmed company are significantly reduced. Therefore, brand protection must be proactive, not reactive.

For Italian retail SMEs, the risk is particularly high. For example, a manufacturer of handmade goods might find its name associated with low-cost imitations in AI responses. Similarly, a B2B company might find itself grouped with competitors that have very different price points.

The business areas most at risk are as follows:

• Brand ReputationUndesired associations in AI-generated content boxes can influence brand perception even before a user visits the website.
• Organic traffic: AI Overviews capture queries with high commercial intent, reducing clicks to product pages.
• Keyword strategyInformational queries are increasingly handled by AI, shifting SEO value towards authoritative and structured content.

For this reason, a review of the SEO strategy In light of these changes, it can no longer be postponed.

What no one is saying: the ruling changes the relationship between brands and the SERP

There's an aspect that is rarely openly discussed. Qualifying AI Overviews as a simple search format shifts the burden of protection entirely onto the brand's shoulders. In other words, it's no longer possible to expect Google to spontaneously correct harmful associations.

This changes the paradigm of the digital marketing strategy. Companies must invest more systematically in the production of authoritative content. In fact, Google tends to favor sources with high E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) also in the creation of AI Overviews.

In addition to this, structuring the data using schema markup and the consistency of information across all platforms becomes an even more important factor. In short, those who effectively manage their digital identity are less exposed to the risk of distorted representations by AI.

What to do now: three operational priorities for SMEs

In light of the ruling and the evolving landscape, it is possible to identify some concrete priorities. These apply to both B2B SMEs and retail companies.

1. Audit of presence in AI Overviews. First, we need to verify how Google represents its brand in AI responses. This requires systematic monitoring of SERPs for brand and category keywords. Our team of SEO copywriting can support this analysis.

2. Strengthening editorial authority. Furthermore, it's crucial to produce content that Google can reliably cite in AI Overviews. In-depth articles, original data, and verifiable sources increase the likelihood of being represented correctly. The section blog business returns to having a primary strategic role.

3. Multichannel brand presence. Finally, consistency of information on Google Business Profile, Wikipedia, industry sites, and social media platforms reduces the risk of unwanted contamination in AI responses. An integrated strategy of digital marketing it must include this facility as an ongoing activity.

Medium-term prospects: towards European regulation of AI search

The current legal fragmentation is not sustainable in the long term. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that the European Commission will intervene with specific guidelines for AI search engines by 2027-2028. The regulatory framework European AI Act already offers some foundations on which to build transparency obligations for generative search systems.

In the meantime, SMEs cannot afford to wait. Strategic decisions on organic visibility must be made today, in a context where the rules of the game are changing rapidly. Those who invest now in structured content, editorial authority, and digital brand presence will have a significant competitive advantage.

For companies wishing to delve deeper into the implications of these changes for their strategy, the team of SHM Studio is available for consultation. Among the active services are management of Google Ads campaigns, the Technical and editorial SEO, and the activities of AI integration in marketing processes. Also the LinkedIn campaign represent a complementary channel for reducing reliance on organic visibility on Google.