Global news publisher Axel Springer has partnered with OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, in a unique arrangement set to offer concise summaries of Axel Springer’s content in response to ChatGPT queries, as revealed by the companies on Wednesday.
Under this collaboration, when users interact with ChatGPT by posing questions, the chatbot will respond by presenting condensed summaries extracted from relevant news articles sourced from Axel Springer’s esteemed brands, including Politico, Business Insider, Bild, and Welt. These summaries will encapsulate content that would typically require a subscription to access. Each summary will attribute the source to the respective Axel Springer publication and will also include a link redirecting users to the full article for further reading.
Tom Rubin, OpenAI’s head of intellectual property and content, emphasized that the summaries will swiftly become available on ChatGPT once articles are published, ensuring that breaking news becomes an integral part of the user experience. The rollout of Axel Springer’s content on ChatGPT is slated to commence in the first quarter of 2024.
An individual familiar with the deal highlighted that the Axel Springer content will enjoy a prominent position in ChatGPT’s search results. This strategic placement aims to drive traffic and bolster subscription revenues for Axel Springer’s brands.
Additionally, OpenAI will compensate Axel Springer for the utilization of its content, including archived material, to train the expansive language models powering ChatGPT. Rubin underlined that the multi-year deal is non-exclusive and encompasses undisclosed financial terms.
Axel Springer’s Chief Executive, Mathias Doepfner, articulated the aspiration behind this alliance, stating, “We want to explore the opportunities of AI empowered journalism – to bring quality, societal relevance, and the business model of journalism to the next level.”
This collaboration emerges amid publishers’ contemplation of potential legal action against technology companies for allegedly infringing on their copyrights by employing their content without authorization to train large language models. In a bid to address these concerns, publishers are exploring partnerships with AI firms and contemplating litigation to ensure compensation for the use of their content in AI model training.
Notably, Axel Springer’s partnership with OpenAI follows a prior agreement between OpenAI and the Associated Press (AP), where the AP licensed part of its news story archive to the Microsoft-backed tech company. Unlike the AP deal, Rubin clarified that the focus of the Axel Springer collaboration isn’t centered on displaying content.
Looking ahead, the landscape of AI-powered news partnerships may expand, with other major publishers like News Corp indicating advanced discussions regarding the use of their content for generative AI. These developments coincide with Europe’s provisional agreement on regulations governing AI usage, including mandates for transparency in foundational models, potentially impacting technology companies and their approach to content utilization in AI training.
