Vox Media, The Atlantic ink deals with OpenAI

A pair of leading digital publishers are partnering with OpenAI and Microsoft on a deal that will allow the tech firm to use their content.

Both Vox Media and The Atlantic announced deals with the artificial intelligence company Wednesday, signaling a deepening of integration between tech and media that is only expected to accelerate.

Vox’s top properties — including The Verge, Eater, New York Magazine, The Cut, Vulture, and SB Nation — will help inform ChatGPT’s 100 million users, with the company promising to “enhance its technology with Vox Media’s archives, which contain a deep well of reliable and accountable information and journalism.”

“This agreement aligns with our goals of leveraging generative AI to innovate for our audiences and customers, protect and grow the value of our work and intellectual property, and boost productivity and discoverability to elevate the talent and creativity of our exceptional journalists and creators,” said Jim Bankoff, co-founder, chair and CEO of Vox Media.

The Atlantic said in an announcement its product team will have “privileged access to OpenAI tech, give feedback, and share use-cases to shape and improve future news experiences in ChatGPT and other OpenAI products.”

“We believe that people searching with AI models will be one of the fundamental ways that people navigate the web in the future,” CEO Nicholas Thompson said.

The news comes just days after NewsCorp., which owns major media properties like the Wall Street Journal and New York Post, announced a similar partnership with Open AI.

Some media companies have signaled a frostier stance on Open AI and artificial intelligence more generally. Eight newspapers owned by Alden Global Capital sued Microsoft in April, alleging the tech firm was illegally using copyrighted articles to train their models.