Frontier AI research lab OpenAI has partnered with global publishing giant Axel Springer in an effort to integrate real-time news and information into its AI systems like ChatGPT. This global collaboration marks the first major partnership between OpenAI and a publishing house to bring recent news content into its knowledge. Earlier this year, the company partnered with The Associated Press to focus on licensing AP’s content library to refine OpenAI models.
Under this agreement, ChatGPT will provide summaries of recent news articles published by Axel Springer's media properties, which include influential publications like Politico, Business Insider, Bild and Welt. This includes premium content that was previously behind paywalls. ChatGPT answers will include links and attribution to the original articles for added transparency and to drive traffic to Axel Springer sites.
The partnership is positioned as mutually beneficial, with both companies stating a commitment to leveraging AI in a way that supports quality journalism and creates new revenue opportunities in the digital age. For Axel Springer, it provides a powerful channel to increase visibility and readership. For OpenAI, tapping into Axel Springer’s real-time, global news expands ChatGPT’s knowledge and grounds it in factual current events vs. just pre-trained data.
“We are excited to have shaped this global partnership between Axel Springer and OpenAI – the first of its kind. We want to explore the opportunities of AI empowered journalism,” said Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner, crediting the potential for AI to enhance journalism’s quality, relevance and business model.
For OpenAI, integrating real-time news expands ChatGPT’s knowledge beyond pre-trained data. Integrating regularly updated news and factual information addresses critiques around AI chatbots’ lack of grounding in current events. COO Brad Lightcap is optimistic, “This partnership with Axel Springer will help provide people with new ways to access quality, real-time news content through our AI tools.”
By partnering directly with media brands, OpenAI is staying true to its commitment to ensure publishers benefit from advances in generative AI – both financially and through increased reach and impact. For Axel Springer, it future-proofs their content and paves the way for additional AI products and services built atop OpenAI tools.