Apple Pursues Nine-Figure Publisher Deals to Give Siri AI Access to Current News

Report: Apple seeks publisher deals to give Siri AI better access to current events

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has been pursuing content deals worth up to nine figures to improve Siri AI's access to current news and information. Here are the details. Apple seeks deals with publishers for Siri AI In a report published today, The Wall Street Journal says that Apple has been reaching out to publishers to secure multiyear deals that would provide Siri AI with access to current events and information. From the report: Apple has proposed a variable compensation plan, with payments made to partner publishers when their content is used, some of the people said. The company has discussed a possible nine-figure budget for the payments, they said. Apple's move comes as publishers increasingly choose between fighting AI companies in court and licensing their content to them. The New York Times, for instance, is currently suing OpenAI and Microsoft over alleged unauthorized use of their work to train AI models, while publishers including News Corp and Axel Springer have instead struck content deals with the maker of ChatGPT. Reddit has also taken both approaches, striking a deal (which is currently under review) with Google in 2024 reportedly worth about $60 million per year to license its content for AI training, while separately suing Anthropic and Perplexity over alleged unauthorized scraping of its data. Back to the Journal's report, it notes that such deals wouldn't be a first for Apple, as the company currently teams up with publishers for Apple News+, and has struck deals that included rights to use publishers' content for its own AI training. The WSJ reached out to Apple for comment, but the company declined. To read the WSJ's full report, follow this link. Worth checking out on Amazon

Apple in Talks to Pay Publishers for News Content to Power Siri AI

Apple has approached publishers to establish content deals that would give Siri AI access to current news and information, reports The Wall Street Journal. Apple is proposing multiyear agreements where publishers would receive payment when their content is used, which is different from standard AI deals. Typical deals between AI companies and news organizations have set fees for broad content access. Apple has discussed a nine-figure budget for the payments. The Wall Street Journal says Apple previously inked deals that included AI training rights. Apple has also worked with publishers for its Apple News+ service since 2019, though some publishers were unhappy with the content deals and ended their partnerships. Siri AI is set to launch this fall in iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27. Siri AI is a major departure from the prior version of Siri, and Apple has an incentive to ensure accurate news headlines. An iOS 18 notification summary feature turned out to be an embarrassment after Apple Intelligence generated false headlines that misled users. Apple ended up removing news summaries for more than a year while it made improvements.

Apple wants publishers to help make Siri smarter, may pay hundreds of millions: Report

Apple is reportedly discussing new multiyear deals with news publishers. These agreements would grant the iPhone maker access to their content for Siri. The proposed deals involve variable compensation based on content usage. Apple is preparing a major AI upgrade for its Siri voice assistant. Apple is reportedly in discussions with news publishers over new multiyear deals that would give the iPhone maker access to their content to improve its artificial intelligence-powered Siri voice assistant. According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple has approached publishers in recent months as it prepares to roll out a major AI upgrade to Siri later this year. The proposed agreements would allow Apple to use publishers' current news and information to help power the revamped assistant. Also Read: Apple Pay coming to India in October, UPI support may be delayed: Report Apple has proposed a variable compensation model under which participating publishers would receive payments when their content is used, the people said. The company has also discussed a potential budget running into the hundreds of millions of dollars for such payments, the report stated. The proposed arrangement would differ from standard AI content-licensing deals between large technology companies and news organisations. Such agreements typically involve guaranteed fees in exchange for broad access to publishers' content rather than payments based on individual usage. Apple's discussions with publishers come as the company seeks to address longstanding criticism that Siri has been less capable and useful than competing AI assistants. Apple has announced a major Siri upgrade designed to integrate AI more deeply into how users interact with its devices and services. Also Read: Apple Pay and Wallet Services chief Jennifer Bailey is leaving the iPhone maker Apple has previously paid publishers for content access, including agreements that gave it rights to use material for AI training, WSJ said citing people familiar with those arrangements. The company has also worked with publishers through Apple News+, its paid news and magazine subscription service launched in 2019. The Wall Street Journal was among the early participants in Apple News+. News Corp, which owns the Journal, has a commercial agreement to supply news through Apple services. Apple's efforts to use publisher content for AI also come after an earlier setback. In late 2024, the company began testing AI-generated news summaries for users. The feature generated inaccurate headlines, prompting concerns among publishers and leading Apple to disable it.

Apple Discusses Paying Publishers to Improve Siri | PYMNTS.com

Apple has approached publishers in recent months about multiyear agreements that would give the company access to current news and information, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday (Aug. 12), citing people familiar with the discussions. The content would help power an AI-enhanced version of Siri expected to arrive later this year. The proposed payment structure distinguishes the talks from many existing licensing deals between AI companies and news organizations. Those agreements typically provide publishers with guaranteed fees in exchange for broad access to their content. Apple, by contrast, has discussed a variable model that would tie compensation to usage. "The company has discussed a possible nine-figure budget for the payments," the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the talks. That approach could give publishers greater visibility into how often an AI service relies on their reporting. It could also help Apple secure timely, professionally produced information as it tries to make Siri more useful. Apple declined to comment to the Journal. The company has paid publishers for content before. Earlier agreements included AI training rights, according to the report. Apple also began working with publishers on its Apple News+ subscription service in 2019. Some publishers have since left the service, although the arrangements have generated meaningful revenue for several news and magazine companies. The Wall Street Journal was among the first publishers to join Apple News+. News Corp, the Journal's parent company, has a commercial agreement to provide news through Apple services. Accuracy remains a central concern. Apple experimented with AI-generated news summaries in late 2024, but the feature produced inaccurate headlines and prompted complaints from publishers. Apple quickly disabled it. The new talks suggest Apple may address that problem by placing trusted publisher content closer to Siri's answers. For media companies, the commercial implications extend beyond one voice assistant. A usage-based agreement with Apple could become a reference point as publishers negotiate how their work is distributed, credited and compensated across AI services.

Apple in talks to pay publishers for Siri AI content- WSJ By Investing.com

Investing.com -- Apple is in discussions with publishers to secure content licensing deals aimed at improving its AI-powered Siri voice assistant, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The iPhone maker has contacted publishers in recent months about new multiyear agreements that would give Apple access to content for Siri AI, which is set to launch later this year, the WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Apple has proposed a variable compensation structure where publishers would receive payments when their content is used. The company has discussed allocating a budget in the nine-figure range for these payments, the WSJ report said. The outreach to publishers comes as Apple works to enhance its voice assistant, which has faced criticism for years over its limited functionality. The company recently announced a major upgrade to Siri that would integrate AI more deeply into Apple products. This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.