Apple has increased its outreach to publishers in recent months as it prepares a more capable version of Siri. The assistant is expected to enter beta later this year with features designed to understand information about the user, interpret content displayed on the screen and perform tasks across applications.
Adding publisher content could address another part of the Siri overhaul: responding to questions about recent events. Access to frequently updated reporting would provide the assistant with information beyond material that remains relatively static.
Apple has considered committing a nine-figure amount to the publisher partnerships, although the organizations involved in the discussions have not been identified. It also remains unclear whether Apple has completed any agreements. The company declined to comment to the Journal.
The talks build on Apple’s existing dealings with media organizations. Apple News+, which launched in 2019, already provides the company with commercial relationships across the publishing industry. The Journal also reported that previous Apple content agreements have included permission to use publishers’ material for AI training.
Apple’s handling of news through AI has previously created problems. In late 2024, the company introduced AI-generated notification summaries that could rewrite incoming alerts. Some summaries inaccurately represented news notifications, prompting complaints from publishers. Apple later turned off the feature for news and entertainment applications.
The latest negotiations come as publishers pursue different approaches to licensing their journalism to AI companies. News Corp and Axel Springer have reached content agreements with OpenAI, while The New York Times has taken a different route, suing OpenAI and Microsoft over claims that its journalism was used without authorization.
Apple’s proposed payment model could give participating publishers revenue when their reporting is used to generate Siri responses. Unlike a guaranteed licensing arrangement, however, compensation would be tied to actual use of the content. For Apple, those agreements could provide a source of current reporting as it expands what Siri can answer. For publishers, the discussions introduce another potential licensing model for journalism used by AI assistants, with payments linked directly to how frequently their content contributes to responses.
This analysis is based on reporting from Mashable.
Image courtesy of wccftech.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
