Search engine giant Google is facing fresh calls to compensate news providers after new research found publishers could be ‘owed’ £2.2bn a year.

A study by the Public Interest News Foundation says Google generated £16.7bn from search advertising in the UK in 2023, of which £5.6bn was generated by information searches with the help of news media.

However hardly any of these revenues are currently shared with the news providers who employ the journalists and publish the stories which provide the information behind the search results.

The foundation says that if these revenues were shared 60:40 between Google and the news media industry, publishers would be entitled to a revenue share of £2.2bn.

The study also showed that Google’s increasing use of AI-generated ‘overviews’ is compounding the problem by amalgamating news stories for users at the top of the search page and obfuscating the sources of information.

Publication of the research comes as the Competition and Markets Authority begins a long-awaited investigation into the tech giant’s strategic market status.

The research found that two third of users preferred the version of Google with news media included, with respondents saying the inclusion of local media in Google search results in particular improves users’ perception of independence.

It found that the work of local, independent news providers enhances the qualities that users appreciate when searching for information.

However it also found that, despite this preference, a majority of users would keep using Google without any news-generated search results, such is Google’s huge dominance over online search.

The full findings of the research are available from the Public Interest News Foundation’s website.

PINF executive director Jonathan Heawood, pictured, said:  “Search engines are wonderful things, connecting users with the world’s information.

“News providers also play a vital role in society, creating accurate and topical information on the issues that affect us all.

“This should be a match made in heaven, but Google’s monopoly over the search industry is squeezing the news industry – particularly independent and local providers – to the brink of extinction.

“Our research shows how different things could be and should be for the news industry.”