Financial Times partners with OpenAI to license content and develop AI tools

The Financial Times has announced a collaboration with OpenAI, allowing the AI company to license its content and utilise it to develop AI tools. Under this partnership, ChatGPT users will encounter summaries, quotes, and article links from the Financial Times, with all information sourced attributed to the publication. In return, OpenAI will collaborate with the Financial Times to innovate and create new AI products, building upon their existing relationship, as the publication already utilises OpenAI’s ChatGPT Enterprise.

John Ridding, CEO of the Financial Times Group, emphasises the importance of maintaining ‘human journalism’ even amidst collaborations with AI platforms. Ridding asserts that AI products must incorporate reliable sources, highlighting the significance of partnerships like the one with OpenAI. Notably, OpenAI has secured similar agreements with other news organisations, including Axel Springer and the Associated Press, to license content for training AI models.

However, OpenAI’s licensing agreements have drawn attention for their comparatively lower payouts to publishers, ranging from $1 million to $5 million, in contrast to offers from companies like Apple. This discrepancy has led to legal disputes, with the New York Times and other news outlets suing OpenAI and Microsoft for alleged copyright infringement related to ChatGPT’s use of their content. These legal battles underscore the complexities and challenges surrounding the integration of AI technology within the news industry.