OpenAI and Conde Nast Forge Multi-Year Content Partnership

Condé Nast and OpenAI unveiled a multi-year partnership on Tuesday to integrate content from Condé Nast’s brands such as Vogue, Wired, and The New Yorker into OpenAI’s products, including ChatGPT and its SearchGPT prototype.

The financial details of the pact were not revealed. Over recent months, OpenAI, led by Sam Altman and backed by Microsoft, has also secured similar partnerships with Time magazine, the Financial Times, Axel Springer (owner of Business Insider), France’s Le Monde, and Spain’s Prisa Media. These deals provide OpenAI with access to the large archives of these publishers, which are pivotal for training large language models like ChatGPT and for retrieving up-to-date information.

Launched in July, OpenAI’s SearchGPT an AI-driven search engine has ventured into the domain traditionally dominated by Google, offering real-time internet information. The new partnership allows SearchGPT to incorporate information and quotes from Condé Nast’s articles in its search results.

Brad Lightcap, OpenAI's chief operating officer, emphasized the company's dedication to collaborating with Condé Nast and other news publishers to ensure that as AI increasingly influences news discovery and delivery, it upholds accuracy, integrity, and respect for high-quality journalism.

Condé Nast’s CEO, Roger Lynch, mentioned in an email reported by the New York Times that the partnership aims to offset some of the revenue losses that publishers have faced due to technology companies. He noted: “As generative AI rapidly transforms how audiences discover information, it is essential that we adapt to new technologies while ensuring proper attribution and compensation for our intellectual property.”

In contrast, some media organizations have taken legal action. The New York Times and the Intercept have sued OpenAI for allegedly using their articles without permission, with the litigation still ongoing.