Google paying independent publishers to test unreleased generative AI platform

Google has announced that it will begin paying independent publishers to test its unreleased generative artificial intelligence (AI) platform.

The program, first reported by Adweek, allows a handful of publishers access to its AI platform in exchange for receiving analytics and feedback.

Publishers are expected to use the tools to produce “a fixed volume of content” for 12 months and will receive a monthly stipend amounting to a five-figure sum annually. Participants of the program are expected to produce and publish three articles a day, one newsletter each week and one marketing campaign each month, Adweek reported.

A Google representative told the outlet they’re in the early stages of providing small publishers with AI tools “to help journalists with their work.”

“These tools are not intended to, and cannot, replace the essential role journalists have in reporting, creating and fact-checking their articles,” the representative said.

The tools will allow publishers to create aggregated content more easily by examining already published content, summarizing it and publishing it as a new article.

The development in AI tech comes as concerns about its capabilities and adoption in the media industry continue to build.

Google pushed back on “speculation” that the program would republish other media outlets’ work. The “experimental tool” is designed to work with small, local publishers to produce content for their site, Meghann Farnsworth, a Google spokesperson, said in an emailed statement.

She added that the program intends to “produce high quality journalism using factual content from public data sources,” including a local government information office or a health authority.  

“Publishers remain in full editorial control of what is ultimately published on their site,” Farnsworth’s statement continued.

Google hopes the program can give journalists the choice of using AI to enhance their work, not replace it, the company said.

Publishers must compile a list of external websites that produce content relevant to their audience. Those external outlets have not granted consent or been notified of their role in the program, Adweek noted.

A publisher will then deploy the AI tool to summarize an article published by one of the outlets before a human editor reads it for accuracy before publishing it on their site. The publishers are not required to note that AI generated the content, the publication found.