Shailesh Prakash checks out of Google News amidst company's ongoing tensions with publishers
The vice president and general manager’s departure highlights the tech company’s ongoing tensions with Indian publishers over ad revenue and fair competition. 
In a fresh twist to the ongoing tensions between Google and news publishers worldwide, Shailesh Prakash, a prominent executive in Google’s news division, has reportedly stepped down from his role as vice president and general manager for Google News. This resignation, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), comes amidst escalating friction with publishers globally and in India, where issues around advertising revenue sharing have become increasingly heated. Google’s subsequent refusal to comment on Prakash’s exit only fuels questions over the company’s position and future actions in this contentious area.
Shailesh Prakash's Background and Experience
Prakash joined Google in late 2022, after a decade at The Washington Post, where he played a vital role in spearheading digital transformation strategies, including developing in-house ad tech capabilities. His extensive career includes positions at tech giants such as Sun Microsystems, Motorola, Netscape, Microsoft, and Sears Holdings, showcasing a wealth of experience in both technology and corporate strategy. 
He is said to have collaborated closely with billionaire Jeff Bezos following the Amazon founder’s acquisition of The Washington Post for $500 million in 2013. His experience gave him valuable insights into the news industry's concerns regarding digital giants like Google, especially amid a backdrop of rising discontent over revenue-sharing practices and the impact of new AI-driven initiatives.
The ‘AI overviews’ controversy and tensions with publishers
Google’s relationship with publishers took a sharp turn in May 2023 when it launched the ‘AI Overviews’ feature at its annual I/O conference. This feature uses AI to generate brief summaries for complex search queries, placing these summaries at the top of search results while moving traditional links—often from publishers—further down the page. 
The tech company’s justification is that these AI-generated responses provide concise, accurate answers for users, but publishers argue this change severely impacts their traffic and, by extension, revenue.
Danielle Coffey, CEO of the News/Media Alliance, warned CNN that Google’s recent announcement to integrate its AI tool, Gemini, into Search could be “catastrophic” for publishers. By generating answers to user queries directly within search results, Gemini may reduce clicks to original news sites, undermining publishers’ ability to monetise their content. While talking to CNN, she criticised Google’s approach as a “perverse twist on ‘innovation,’” noting that the tool leverages publishers’ content while diminishing their already limited traffic.
