Meta's AI Chatbot Forms Multi-Year Partnership with Reuters for News
Creator: DADO RUVIC | Credit: REUTERS

Meta’s AI Chatbot Forms Multi-Year Partnership with Reuters for News

Meta’s AI chatbot will begin citing Reuters reports for news queries, marking a multi-year partnership between the two companies, as reported by Axios.

The AI chatbot that works for Meta will soon start citing Reuters reports when answering questions about news. Both companies have agreed to use Reuters content for their chatbot responses, according to Axios.

The deal lasts for several years. This is Meta’s first deal of its kind in a time when news outlets are willing to give their content to AI companies.

A spokesperson for Meta, Jamie Radice, said in an email, “We’re always iterating and working to improve our products. Thanks to our partnership with Reuters, Meta AI can answer questions about the news with summaries and links to Reuters content.”

“Most people use Meta AI for creative tasks, in-depth research on new topics, or help with how-tos. This partnership will make the experience better for people who want to learn about current events.”

Axios reports that Meta’s AI chatbot, accessible through Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, will compensate Reuters for its content. On Friday, US users will start seeing links to Reuters stories.

So far, many of Meta’s most intriguing AI features have been character-based, like the celebrity chatbots the company just got rid of, rather than current events-based. When asked about the safety measures in place for AI responses that deal with news and current events, Radice didn’t answer.

News outlets like The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and the Dotdash Meredith Group have signed licensing deals with OpenAI over the last year or so.

“AI is coming, and it’s coming fast.” “We want to be a part of the change,” Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, told The Verge. “The change could be bad or good, but we think the chances of it being good for journalism and the work we do at The Atlantic are higher if we participate in it.” So that’s what we did.”

On the other end of the spectrum is The New York Times, which is fighting an expensive legal battle against OpenAI and Microsoft because it says they stole its ideas when they made their AI models.

Meta’s Complex Relationship with News

The interest of Meta’s AI chatbot in news and current events is noteworthy, as the company typically views such content negatively on Threads. The company’s leaders have said in public that they are “not going to do anything to encourage” negative news and political content.

Despite the AI chatbot’s lack of connection to the X competitor, Meta appears to be pursuing a dual strategy: allowing users to access news from Meta platforms while maintaining control over their delivery methods.

Meta now seems willing to pay for news content, but at the same time, it is fighting laws that would require it to pay news publishers for content posted on social media. For example, people in Canada can’t get news on Facebook and Instagram because Meta chose to block all publisher accounts and links on those sites instead of following the law.

Google vowed to implement a similar measure in California, where a new “link tax” bill was under consideration. The bill died in the end, and Google and news outlets agreed to work together for $250 million. Unsurprisingly, some of that money goes to an AI program.

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