The Politics of Business and Culture

Join the Ken dot Live...

Get my daily email on the state of the little guy
(that’s us!) and how we can stick it to the big guy (them!)…

The Growing Trend of AI Partnerships in News Publishing: A Closer Look at Recent Deals

News publishers are increasingly engaging with artificial intelligence firms to leverage their content in innovative ways, signaling a shift from initial skepticism to strategic collaboration. Despite early reservations and a notable lawsuit initiated by The New York Times, the trend towards embracing AI partnerships is gaining momentum.

These agreements typically enable AI companies to use news content as reference material for user inquiries on platforms like ChatGPT, where citations are directed back to the publishers’ websites. Furthermore, these deals provide publishers with access to advanced AI technologies to develop their own digital offerings.

The page will continue to be updated as new partnerships are formed or legal disputes arise involving news publishers and AI entities. Recent developments include legal complaints filed by Mumsnet and The Center for Investigative Reporting against OpenAI, alongside notable collaborations between major news outlets and AI startups Perplexity and Prorata.

OpenAI is actively pursuing partnerships, offering news organizations between \$1 million and \$5 million annually to license their copyrighted material for model training. Notably, News Corp’s agreement reportedly amounts to over $250 million over a five-year span.

Meanwhile, Apple is exploring potential AI agreements with major publishers such as Conde Nast, NBC News, and IAC—the parent company of People and Daily Beast. However, these discussions have not yet been disclosed publicly.

For small business owners and solopreneurs, these evolving dynamics illustrate the growing value of content in the AI ecosystem and the potential for new avenues in content monetization and innovation.

We typically get the short end of the stick…from big business, from crappy employers and from crappy governments. So what I’ve (and my esteemed and impeccably dressed cohorts) decided to do is call them out on it…and also give you solutions to start tilting the playing field in your favor.