OpenAI Will Enhance ChatGPT with Stories From Vox Media and The Atlantic

OpenAI has revealed two major media deals with The Atlantic and Vox Media that will incorporate their content into ChatGPT. Meanwhile, the two publications and their parent companies will get better access to OpenAI’s generative AI and potentially score new products as a result.

Atlantic ChatGPT

The deal will see The Atlantic’s articles become available through ChatGPT, complete with attribution and direct links to the full articles on their website. The integration allows users to see the publication’s news content with an eye toward improving the breadth and quality of information available through ChatGPT. Meanwhile, The Atlantic’s product team will gain privileged access to OpenAI’s technology, allowing them to provide feedback and share use cases to refine and enhance future news experiences in ChatGPT and other OpenAI products. This collaboration is supposedly set up to explore the potential of AI in journalism and develop new features for readers. The Atlantic is already working on an experimental microsite called Atlantic Labs, where they will pilot OpenAI’s technology along with other emerging tech to create innovative products and features.

“We believe that people searching with AI models will be one of the fundamental ways that people navigate the web in the future,” said Nicholas Thompson, The Atlantic’s CEO. “We’re delighted to partner with OpenAI, to make The Atlantic’s reporting and stories more discoverable to their millions of users, and to have a voice in shaping how news is surfaced on their platforms.”

Vox ChatGPT

Simultaneously, Vox Media has also established its own partnership with OpenAI. ChatGPT and other OpenAI products will incorporate information from Vox’s eponymous website as well as content from its portfolio of publications, such as The Verge, Eater, New York Magazine, The Cut, Vulture, and SB Nation. Responses culled from those sources will include attribution and links back to the original content.

As with The Atlantic, Vox Media will collaborate with OpenAI on its own generative AI consumer and advertising products. For instance, the company wants to upgrade audience engagement tools, such as The Strategist Gift Scout, which uses generative AI models to match shoppers with recommended gifts and update Vox Media’s affiliate commerce product. The AI models will also support Vox Media’s Forte platform, which provides targeted advertising solutions.

“We’re thrilled to partner with OpenAI. 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.

Both partnerships highlight the growing trend of integrating AI with journalism to improve content accessibility and user experience. Founded in 2015, OpenAI has rapidly advanced AI technology, with ChatGPT becoming one of the most popular AI models used for various applications, including customer service, education, and content generation. By partnering with respected media organizations like The Atlantic and Vox Media, OpenAI likely hopes to improve the reputation of the information provided by its products.

“Enabling access to The Atlantic’s reporting in our products will allow users to more deeply interact with thought-provoking news. We are dedicated to supporting high-quality journalism and the publishing ecosystem,” OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap said in a statement on that deal, with similar sentiments about Vox. “We’re excited to partner with Vox Media to give our audiences the best experiences at the intersection of AI and media. Working together, we can drive forward with innovation while amplifying the work of journalists.”

The two partnerships continue OpenAI’s efforts to team up with news sources. The company recently inked a deal with The Financial Times (FT) to license its content to improve OpenAI’s generative AI models while bringing customized AI features to FT readers. Under the new arrangement, ChatGPT will incorporate select summaries, quotations, and links to FT content. OpenAI has variations on those deals with Axel Springer, the Associated Press, Le Monde, and News Corp., among others.

As Voicebot has pointed out, the role of AI in journalism is under increasing scrutiny, especially regarding the accuracy and reliability of automated content. Large Language Models (LLMs) often face criticism for their potential to produce misleading or fabricated information, which contrasts sharply with the traditional journalistic standards of accuracy. OpenAI may also be looking to steer clear of legal challenges similar to those it faced in the past, such as the lawsuit filed by The New York Times in December, which alleges that OpenAI is utilizing copyrighted material without proper authorization.

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