Condé Nast is partnering with OpenAI in a multiyear deal that will allow Sam Altman’s AI tech giant behind ChatGPT and its SearchGPT prototype to surface work from brands like Vanity Fair, Vogue and The New Yorker, CEO Roger Lynch announced in a company memo Tuesday.
Noting the changing landscape and “steep challenges” of media and journalism today with the encroaching influence of Big Tech and eroding ability for publishers to monetize content, Lynch wrote that revenue garnered from the deal will be used to “continue to protect and invest in our journalism and creative endeavors.”
“As we all know, generative AI is rapidly changing ways audiences are discovering information. It’s crucial that we meet audiences where they are and embrace new technologies while also ensuring proper attribution and compensation for use of our intellectual property. This is exactly what we have found with OpenAI,” he said.
Lynch emphasized that the work created at Condé Nast cannot be replaced and that the partnership is in step with creating a technology-driven future “responsibly.”
“It is just the beginning and we will continue what we started in Washington earlier this year – the fight for fair deals and partnerships across the industry until all entities developing and deploying artificial intelligence take seriously, as OpenAI has, the rights of publishers,” Lynch concluded.
Under Lynch and his chief content officer Anna Wintour (who also serves as editor-in-chief of American Vogue), Condé Nast joins a growing list of publishers that have partnered with OpenAI, including the Associated Press, Axel Springer, The Atlantic, Dotdash Meredith, Financial Times, LeMonde, NewsCorp, Prisa Media, Time and Vox Media.
Deals like the above came in the aftermath of OpenAI coming under fire for its methods of combing publishers’ content, which in one case was met with copyright infringement lawsuits from digital news sites Raw Story, Alternet and The Intercept.
Representatives for Condé Nast did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Wired, a Condé Nast brand, first reported the news.
Read Lynch’s memo in full below:
Dear all,
I’m pleased to share with you that we are entering a multi-year partnership with OpenAI to expand the reach of Condé Nast’s content.
As we all know, generative AI is rapidly changing ways audiences are discovering information. It’s crucial that we meet audiences where they are and embrace new technologies while also ensuring proper attribution and compensation for use of our intellectual property. This is exactly what we have found with OpenAI.
Over the last decade, news and digital media have faced steep challenges as many technology companies eroded publishers’ ability to monetize content, most recently with traditional search. Our partnership with OpenAI begins to make up for some of that revenue, allowing us to continue to protect and invest in our journalism and creative endeavors.
Throughout the process OpenAI has shown that they too are very committed to this mission. They have been transparent and willing to productively work with publishers like us so that the public can receive reliable information and news through their platforms.
This partnership recognizes that the exceptional content produced by Condé Nast and our many titles cannot be replaced, and is a step toward making sure our technology-enabled future is one that is created responsibly. It is just the beginning and we will continue what we started in Washington earlier this year – the fight for fair deals and partnerships across the industry until all entities developing and deploying artificial intelligence take seriously, as OpenAI has, the rights of publishers.
My best,
Roger