OpenAI Products to Integrate Hearst Newspaper and Magazine Content

Hearst and OpenAI have formed a content partnership that will see Hearst’s newspaper and domestic magazine content integrated into OpenAI’s generative artificial intelligence (AI) products, including ChatGPT.

The collaboration will give ChatGPT’s 200 million weekly users access to content from Hearst publications like the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Runner’s World and Women’s Health — a total of more than 20 magazines and 40 newspapers — the companies said in a Tuesday (Oct. 8) press release.

“This agreement allows the trustworthy and curated content created by Hearst Newspapers’ award-winning journalists to be part of OpenAI’s products like ChatGPT — creating more timely and relevant results,” Hearst Newspapers President Jeff Johnson said in the release.

It will also help “evolve the future of magazine content,” Hearst Magazines President Debi Chirichella said in the release.

“This collaboration ensures that our high-quality writing and expertise, cultural and historical context and attribution and credibility are promoted as OpenAI’s products evolve,” Chirichella said.

Users of ChatGPT will find transparency and easy access to the original Hearst sources, as the Hearst content will include appropriate citations and direct links, according to the release.

“Bringing Hearst’s trusted content into our products elevates our ability to provide engaging, reliable information to our users,” OpenAI Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap said in the release.

In an earlier, separate deal, OpenAI and Time magazine announced a multi-year content partnership in June.

The tie-up will give OpenAI access to Time’s current and past content from its 101-year-old archive, allowing the tech firm to cite the publication as a source of information in response to user queries on ChatGPT, and will give Time access to OpenAI’s technology, enabling it to develop new products for its readers.

In May, OpenAI signed a deal with News Corp., giving the AI company access to current and archived content from news publications like The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, MarketWatch and the New York Post.

OpenAI is also facing lawsuits from other publishers.

It was reported in April that eight newspapers owned by Alden Global Capital’s MediaNews Group sued OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that the tech companies used the newspapers’ content to train AI models.

In December 2023, The New York Times filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI, alleging copyright infringement and claiming the tech companies used its content without permission to develop their AI products.