Condé Nast partners with OpenAI

Correction: This article has been updated to clarify that OpenAI is the company a number of media companies have partnered with.

Media conglomerate Condé Nast has struck a deal with OpenAI to allow the artificial intelligence (AI) provider to use its content.

In a Tuesday memo to employees, Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch wrote the multiyear partnership demonstrates that “it’s crucial that we meet audiences where they are and embrace new technologies while also ensuring proper attribution and compensation for use of our intellectual property.”

“Over the last decade, news and digital media have faced steep challenges as many technology companies eroded publishers’ ability to monetize content, most recently with traditional search,” Lynch wrote.

The partnership with OpenAI will begin to “make up for some of that revenue, allowing us to continue to protect and invest in our journalism and creative endeavors,” the CEO said.

“Throughout the process OpenAI has shown that they too are very committed to this mission. They have been transparent and willing to productively work with publishers like us so that the public can receive reliable information and news through their platforms,” he continued.

“This partnership recognizes that the exceptional content produced by Condé Nast and our many titles cannot be replaced, and is a step toward making sure our technology-enabled future is one that is created responsibly.”

Condé Nast, which owns leading media properties such as Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Vogue and WIRED, is just the latest in a slew of major news companies that have partnered with OpenAI on AI as the technology has grown more prominent.

In recent months, News Corp, Vox and Reddit all announced similar deals with OpenAI, while The New York Times and other newspapers have taken the opposite approach, suing Microsoft and OpenAI and alleging it is violating copyright law by using their articles to train AI programs.

— Updated August 21 at 12:24 p.m.