OpenAI licenses part of AP's text archive, while AP uses OpenAI tech

OpenAI and the Associated Press (AP) have agreed to share selected news content and technology to explore the potential of generative AI in news products and services.

OpenAI will license a portion of AP's text archive, while AP will leverage OpenAI's technology and product expertise. The collaboration is for the good of journalism, AP says, and builds on AP's efforts over the past decade to effectively use automation in its journalism.

AP makes it clear that it doesn't use generative AI in its news stories, and it doesn't mention any plans to do so.

AP says it already uses AI to automate advertising and journalism tasks, including producing corporate earnings reports, sports event previews and recaps, and audio transcriptions. AP has also launched an AI-powered search tool on its content delivery platform, AP Newsroom, and is helping local newsrooms implement AI for automation through its Local News AI project.

Perhaps more notably, OpenAI is licensing AP's content, which is an initial commitment to supporting companies that produce the content that AI systems use to train and generate. The question is how, if at all, this approach will scale to the tens of thousands of news outlets worldwide.

Media companies are embracing AI with open arms, and it doesn't seem like they have much of a choice

AP's cooperation with OpenAI is another example of journalism trying to adapt AI technologies to streamline content processes and automate parts of the creation process. So far, experiments by CNET or Gizmodo to create AI content from scratch have run into some quality issues and been criticized, especially by staff.

International media conglomerate Axel Springer has announced a dedicated team for generative AI and has already stated that there will be layoffs as it transitions to more AI-focused production processes, with more resources going into the creation of original content.

Spiegel Online, one of Germany's leading news portals, recently took a similar position, saying it sees a lot of potential in AI automation for better processes, but it's less clear whether AI can help create content from scratch, and that carries much higher risks.

"In any case, we want to be very open to the possibilities of AI systems and encourage our teams and individual contributors to get to grips with them," the outlet writes.