Google has started paying websites whose content helps its AI write answers. The test is called the AI contribution pilot and runs through Search Console, the free tool Google gives site owners. It covers the Gemini app, AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google says it is an early-stage pilot to test how to reward high-quality content on top of the traffic and tools it already provides.
Participation is by invitation only. At least a few dozen sites have been invited so far, most of them small and mid-sized, and not only news sites. Those who join get a new panel in Search Console. It shows what the site earned each month along with previous months, and a site can leave the program at any time from the settings.
What counts as a contribution
The definition is narrow. Google pays only when content "contributes significantly" to an answer, meaning it shapes what the answer says while it is being written. The program's help text says web content may also confirm facts or be linked after a response is generated, and that those cases don't qualify. A site that shows up as a link under the answer, or that Google only checks a fact against, earns nothing from it.
The panel shows an amount, but not how it was calculated or which content was used. One participant called the mechanism a "black box". Another said earnings so far are negligible next to ad revenue.
The traffic that went missing
A study that tracked the browsing of 900 American adults in March 2025 looked at how often they clicked search results. When an AI summary appeared at the top of the page, they clicked a regular result in 8% of visits. Without a summary, they clicked in 15% of visits. They clicked a link inside the summary itself in just 1% of visits.
Sites have been complaining about this drop for two years. Last June Google wrote that it was testing a new way of working with sites whose content keeps its answers fresh and accurate. OpenAI signed large licensing deals with news outlets, while Google chose a different route: paying according to what the content actually contributed. An executive at one invited site warned that joining weakens a publisher's position in future negotiations, since Google can say it already pays them.
Lessons for a business website
Most businesses won't get an invitation, but Google's definition shows what its AI is looking for. It relies on content that changes the answer, and content that is merely mentioned alongside it is worth less. A page that repeats what ten competitors already wrote doesn't change what the model says, so the model doesn't rely on it either. What does change the answer is information that isn't available anywhere else, such as data the business collected itself, detailed prices and terms, or a direct answer to a question customers keep asking.