Deal explainer
AP and OpenAI: the first major news-AI licensing deal
Quick answer
In July 2023, the Associated Press agreed to license part of its text archive to OpenAI so OpenAI could use it to improve its AI systems, while AP gained access to OpenAI's technology and product expertise. It was one of the first formal news-licensing deals between a major U.S. news organization and an AI company, and the financial terms were never made public.
What was reported#
- The deal was announced July 13, 2023, and covers part of AP's text archive dating back to 1985.
- AP said it would get access to OpenAI's technology and product expertise as part of the arrangement.
- Reuters and Axios both described it as a roughly two-year agreement, one of the first of its kind between a news organization and an AI company.
- Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by either company.
- AP has said it does not use generative AI to write its news stories.
Related deals
SourceX was not a party to these deals. This tracker summarizes public reporting so businesses can see how AI data licensing is developing.
Sources
Public sources, checked 2026-10-09. SourceX is not affiliated with the organizations named.
- AP: AP, OpenAI agree to share select news content and technology ap.org
- Reuters: Associated Press, OpenAI partner to explore generative AI use in news reuters.com
- Axios: AP strikes news-sharing and tech deal with OpenAI axios.com
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