Google Agrees to Pay News Corp for AI-Related Content

Alphabet-owned Google has forged a lucrative AI deal with News Corp, the owner of the prestigious Wall Street Journal, to the tune of between $5 million and $6 million annually, as reported by The Information on Tuesday.

This collaboration aims to spearhead the creation of new AI-related content and products, marking a significant stride in the intersection of technology and journalism.

According to Reuters, sources familiar with the matter revealed that this agreement is a continuation of a longstanding partnership between Google and News Corp. While neither company has officially commented on the specifics of the deal, a News Corp spokesperson clarified to Reuters, “We absolutely do not have an AI content licensing deal with Google, though we do have a number of partnerships with Google across our businesses.”

Read more: Ex-Google CEO Says Industry Must Develop ‘Guardrails’ For AI

Despite Reuters’ efforts to obtain a comment from Google regarding the arrangement, the tech giant remained silent at the time of reporting.

The synergy between tech behemoths and media conglomerates reflects a broader trend where AI firms seek to collaborate with news organizations. One prevalent aspect of such partnerships is the licensing of archived content to bolster the training data for AI models, particularly chatbots.

News of Google’s collaboration with News Corp follows similar initiatives undertaken by other AI firms. OpenAI, for instance, has struck deals with renowned news publishers like the Financial Times and Axel Springer, whose portfolio includes Politico, to harness their archival content for AI training purposes.

Source: Reuters