Google has initiated a private program for a select group of independent publishers, granting them beta access to an unreleased generative AI platform in exchange for feedback and analytics, as per documents reviewed by ADWEEK. This program is part of the Google News Initiative, launched in 2018.

Under the agreement’s terms, publishers must use the tools to generate a specific volume of content over a 12-month period. In return, these news organizations receive a monthly stipend totalling a five-figure sum annually. 

Addressing speculations, a Google representative clarified, “This speculation about this tool being used to republish other outlets’ work is inaccurate.” The representative added that the experimental tool is designed responsibly to assist local publishers in producing high-quality journalism using factual content from public data sources, such as a local government’s public information office or health authority. It was emphasized that these tools are not intended to and cannot replace journalists’ essential role in reporting, creating, and fact-checking their articles.

The beta tools let publishers create aggregated content by indexing recently published reports from various organizations, including government agencies and neighbouring news outlets. The process involves summarizing and republishing this information as a new article.

In an October edition of the Local Independent Online News newsletter, Google initially called for news organizations to apply to test these tools. Publisher onboarding for the Google News Initiative (GNI) began in January, and the yearlong program officially commenced in February.

Simultaneously, Google launched the second edition of GNI in India. Despite the company’s public investment in journalism initiatives, there is an ironic concern that Google, with its dominant market position, is constraining journalism. This is evident in Google’s abuse of its market power to compel news publishers to use their content in the redesigned Google News app—a mobile news aggregator heavily focused on Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP).

With the introduction of generative AI tools, there is a potential concern that the articles produced could divert traffic away from the sources, adversely impacting their businesses. This process is reminiscent of the ripping technique currently employed at Reach plc, but the text is sourced from external outlets in this case.

The mission of GNI has raised questions, particularly as it attempts to address a problem that Google itself has sparked in the first place.