The decision by OpenAI to enter the search business might be sending shudders through Google. But what does it mean for publishers?
Open AI is being sued by numerous news organizations for using their content without permission, including The New Yotk Times, the New York Daily News and seven related Alden Global Capital newspapers and the Center for Investigative Reporting, publisher of Mother Jones. These titles are clearly not interested in helping OpenAI.
But OpenAI has also signed mega-deals with several publishers, ranging from News Corp. to Time Magazine. And these may be assisting in the creation of a search engine.
Take The Atlantic. “AI search is going to become one of the key ways that people navigate the internet, and it's crucial, in these early days, that the technology is built in a way that values, respects, and protects journalism and publishers,” says Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, according to OpenAI. “We look forward to partnering with OpenAI in the process, and creating a new way for readers to discover The Atlantic.”
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Then there is News Corp. “Sam (Altman) and the truly talented team at OpenAI innately understand that for AI-powered search to be effective, it must be founded on the highest-quality, most reliable information furnished by trusted sources,” says Robert Thomson, chief executive, News Corp. “For the heavens to be in equilibrium, the relationship between technology and content must be symbiotic and provenance must be protected.”
OpenAI says it is “ committed to a thriving ecosystem of publishers and creators. We hope to help users discover publisher sites and experiences, while bringing more choice to search.”
It adds, “For decades, search has been a foundational way for publishers and creators to reach users. Now, we’re using AI to enhance this experience by highlighting high quality content in a conversational interface with multiple opportunities for users to engage.”
But how is this going to work? “We’ve partnered with publishers to build this experience and continue to seek their feedback,” OpenAI claims. “In addition to launching the SearchGPT prototype, we are also launching a way for publishers to manage how they appear in SearchGPT, so publishers have more choices. Importantly, SearchGPT is about search and is separate from training OpenAI’s generative AI foundation models.”
Indeed, OpenAI reassures publishers, “Sites can be surfaced in search results even if they opt out of generative AI training.”
Are you reassured? OpenAI may well deliver. In the meantime, interested law firms will surely stay up to date with the court docket.