AI Voice Lawsuit Against Google To Proceed

A California judge has allowed former NPR host David Greene’s lawsuit against Google over NotebookLM’s male AI voice to proceed on all four claims. The ruling does not determine whether Google used Greene’s recordings.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Shella Deen rejected Google’s challenge Oct. 23. Greene alleges that Google used his voice to create and market NotebookLM’s default male AI host without permission. His claims include violation of California’s right-of-publicity law, unfair competition, misappropriation, and unjust enrichment.

David Greene

Greene alleges that Google used recordings of his voice to create the default male voice for NotebookLM’s Audio Overviews feature and then used it to market and sell the product without his permission.

Audio Overviews, introduced in September 2024, turns uploaded documents into podcast-style conversations between male and female AI hosts. Greene’s complaint cites listeners who said the male voice “sounds exactly like” him, as well as a forensic voice-recognition firm that found “relatively high” evidence of a match.

Deen said a radio host’s voice can be widely known, but added that whether the AI voice came from Greene’s recordings remains a factual question. The court also rejected Google’s argument that copyright law preempts the claims.

The case comes as Congress considers the proposed NO FAKES Act, which would establish federal protections for digital replicas of voices.