Meta Signs a Multi-Year Deal with Reuters to Use Its News Articles in AI Chatbot

• Meta has entered into an agreement with Reuters under which Meta AI will use news content from Reuters to respond to queries on its AI chatbot.
• Both companies have confirmed the news but haven't revealed the financial terms of the deal yet.

On Friday, Meta signed a deal with the popular new agency Reuters, allowing its AI bot to cite the latter's content when users ask questions about real-time events. Basically, it will present the user with a summary of the news along with a link to the original piece of Reuters in case they want more details.

This arrangement benefits both - Meta will have access to an accurate source of information while Reuters will get more visibility and potentially more traffic (if the users choose to click on the full link).

Apart from this, much of the details of this deal is unknown. For instance, we don't know the financial terms of the deal or for how many years it'll be in effect. Axios, who first reported the news, says that it will be a multi-year deal.

As for Meta, this is the first deal of its kind in years. Lately, the company has been avoiding news content on its platforms, especially Threads, after receiving criticism from regulators for fuelling fake news.

But looks like the company is ready to venture back into the arena once again and it couldn't have chosen a better partner.

Reuters has been in the business since 1851. With more than 2500 journalists and 600 photojournalists from around 200+ locations in the world, it is a well-chosen partner to help Meta AI stay on top of the latest events.What Do the Companies Have to Say About This Deal?

Although they did not reveal any details, both companies have acknowledged the deal.

We can confirm that Reuters has partnered with tech providers to license our trusted, fact-based news content to power their AI platforms. The terms of these deals remain confidential' - Spokesperson from Reuters

Meta spokesperson Jamie Radice also addressed the news and said that while most people use Meta AI for creative purposes, this partnership will ensure that ones looking for facts about world events can also benefit from the AI.

While a deal like this might be a first for Meta, it's certainly not the first time that an AI company has entered into an agreement with a news agency. Previously, ChatGPT-maker OpenAI signed a similar deal with Conde Nast, the owner of Vogue Magazine, which also extends to news houses like The New Yorker and Wired.

Initially, when AI companies first started handling news, it was a disaster because they were scraping content from news sites without their consent or compensation. The New York Times even filed a lawsuit against OpenAI for copyright infringement. Many more lawsuits from other news sites and independent creators followed.

So it looks like the AI companies have finally decided to take the right route and compensate the journalists for their work. And although a lot of news organizations aren't happy with the interference of AI in news, they have probably realized this is the future and they better adapt to it while there's still time.

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