The Munich I Regional Court has prohibited Google, in summary proceedings, from disseminating untrue factual claims about two Munich-based publishers in its “AI Overview” search function. The AI had incorrectly attributed information about dubious dealings of other companies to the plaintiff's company. In its ruling of May 28, 2026 (Ref. 26 O 869/26), the chamber classified Google not as an indirect advertiser of false claims but as a direct disturber whose AI produces false information as its content.
Because while conventional search results merely present indexed third-party content with title, snippet, and link, the AI function generates a coherent, flowing text that evaluates multiple sources and summarizes them into an independent answer. From the perspective of average users, this appears as direct information from Google, not as a mere forwarding of third-party content.
The previous, rather limited liability of search engines for third-party content is therefore not transferable to this generative format, the chamber ruled. Instead, the usual standards for defamation law apply: untrue factual claims can be prohibited without Google being able to hide behind the automated AI process. The note “created with AI” does not change the attribution to Google.
