OpenAI and Associated Press Announce Landmark Deal to License News Archive for AI Training

OpenAI and the Associated Press (AP) have announced a landmark multi-year agreement that will see the AI leader license the global news agency’s extensive text archive to train its artificial intelligence models. The deal provides OpenAI with a trove of high-quality, factual news content while also allowing the 178-year-old news cooperative to leverage OpenAI’s technology and expertise.

Under the terms of the partnership, OpenAI gains access to a portion of the AP’s vast collection of news stories, which dates back to 1985. This collaboration is a significant move for OpenAI as it seeks to secure ethically sourced and authoritative datasets to enhance the capabilities and accuracy of its models, including the technology underpinning ChatGPT. For the AI industry, which faces increasing scrutiny over copyright and the use of web-scraped data, deals with reputable publishers are becoming a crucial component of responsible AI development.

In return, the Associated Press will gain access to OpenAI’s technology and product expertise. While the AP has been using AI in its own operations for nearly a decade—primarily for automating corporate earnings reports and transcribing live events—this partnership signals a deeper exploration into the potential applications of generative AI in the news industry. Both organizations emphasized that the agreement includes safeguards to protect intellectual property and maintain journalistic integrity.

Kristin Heitmann, Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer at the AP, stated that the collaboration aligns with the agency’s mission to license its content to a wide array of industries. OpenAI’s Chief Operating Officer, Brad Lightcap, praised the AP’s commitment to factual reporting and said the partnership would enrich the experience of ChatGPT users by providing them with world-class, fact-based information. This deal follows similar content agreements OpenAI has recently struck with other major media outlets, solidifying a new framework for the relationship between AI developers and content creators.