Google says its paid news AI pilot now includes more than 400 publications around the world, according to a company update this month. New partners include CNN, Axios, Forbes, the Financial Times and the Texas Tribune.
The pilot tests AI-written overviews of articles on publishers’ Google News pages, and custom audio briefings, both with links back to the original reporting. Google says it pays participants for content used to build these features, but it has not disclosed how much.
The programme is growing while publishers fight Google over AI Overviews in search, which some say cut their traffic. A US judge dismissed two publishers’ antitrust suits over AI Overviews on 30 September.