More than 400 publications worldwide now take part in Google’s News AI pilot, the company said on Thursday. The programme pays publishers to license content for experimental AI features in Google News. Its newest partners include Axios, CNN, the Financial Times and Forbes.
“Through this licensing program, we pay participating news publications for the delivery and use of enhanced content to develop new AI features.” Google, in a blog post
Local US publishers have joined too. They include the Post and Courier in Charleston, the Texas Tribune, Oil City News in Wyoming and the newspaper chain Shaw Media. The pilot launched last December with partners including The Washington Post and The Washington Examiner.
What the content is used for
Licensed articles feed AI-generated “story previews”, in-depth summaries on a publisher’s Google News page, Nieman Lab reported. A Washington Post example carries a note that the copy is AI-generated and “may include mistakes”.
Another test feature is an audio briefing, a custom AI podcast in the Google News app. Users pick topics such as World, Gaming or Sports, and the briefing links to the articles it cites.
Google declined to share the terms of the deals. The pilot does not pay by how much content adds to an AI answer, a spokesperson told Nieman Lab. That model belongs to a separate programme for AI Overviews, AI Mode and Gemini.
“People’s information consumption habits are changing, and we want to make sure publishers of all sizes, local newsrooms included, can navigate these shifts.” Brianna Puccini Duff, Google spokesperson, to Nieman Lab
CNN’s first deal under new owners
The agreement is CNN’s first partnership since Paramount Skydance completed its takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, Reuters reported. CNN said the deal fits its strategy to protect its intellectual property.
“Google’s innovation with generative AI has changed how people discover information and content, and now those tools will help us explore new ways to discover and engage audiences.” Sam Felix, CNN senior vice president, to Reuters
The deals come as publishers step up efforts to stop AI companies using their content without permission, Reuters noted.
Links move up in AI answers
Google also changed how links appear in its AI search, The Verge reported. Inline links in AI Overviews and AI Mode will show “higher up in responses more frequently”, Google said. Google is also testing links at the top of some answers and adding image thumbnails to links at the end.