Meta AI is now a Reuters newsboy
Extra extra! Meta AI will summarize and link to Reuters news stories!
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
You can now ask the Meta AIchatbotfor news and get an answer based on the latest Reuters reporting without leaving Facebook, Instagram,WhatsApp, or Messenger. Meta and Thompson Reuters have reached a deal to link the AI chatbot with Reuters content in an agreement that will see Reuters paid – an undisclosed amount – for its content.
Right now, the news responses will only appear to U.S. users. When you ask about news on topics that Reuters has reported on, you will get a short summary of the news and a direct link within the AI chatbot’s response to the relevant Reuters article.
Meta hasn’t made a deal with news providers since announcing plans to reduce the news content appearing on Facebook and its other social media platforms. In fact, Meta has made fighting against mandatory compensation of news companies its policy. That’s why Meta blocks all news content on Facebook and Instagram in Canada. Arguments over AI regulations are also why you won’t find Meta AIin the EU.
Reuters is widely considered a trustworthy news source, so Meta’s interest in adding its imprimatur to Meta AI’s answers about the news makes sense. Signing a deal that will compensate Reuters rather than just summarizing and linking to articles available without a paywall suggests Meta also wants to stay on the news service’s good side amidst a growing debate about how AI platforms use news articles to answer questions and train their models.
Meta’s news tangle
Other AI chatbots have made their own deals to access news sources. For instance,OpenAIinked a licensing deal with publishers, includingThe Wall Street Journal,The Atlantic,and the Meredith group of publications. At the same time, some major media organizations have been pushing back in court. TheNew York Timesis in exactly that kind of legal dispute with OpenAI, claiming the ChatGPT creator infringed on its copyright by training AI models with its content without permission or compensation.
A news service is definitely a departure from the more entertainment-focused features Meta AI has highlighted until now. For instance, the celebrity voices highlighted atMeta Connectand the AIchatbotswith personalities (thatno longer havecelebrity faces) were decidedly not about sharing real-world news.
Despite the contentious situation around news and AI platforms, the agreement with Reuters could boost the appeal of Meta AI to users looking for credible information on current affairs. As Meta AI faces plenty of competition in AI chatbots likeChatGPT,GoogleGemini, Perplexity, and other AI platforms, Meta wouldn’t want this specific feature to be the thing that keeps potential users away.
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
You might also like
Eric Hal Schwartz is a freelance writer for TechRadar with more than 15 years of experience covering the intersection of the world and technology. For the last five years, he served as head writer for Voicebot.ai and was on the leading edge of reporting on generative AI and large language models. He’s since become an expert on the products of generative AI models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google Gemini, and every other synthetic media tool. His experience runs the gamut of media, including print, digital, broadcast, and live events. Now, he’s continuing to tell the stories people want and need to hear about the rapidly evolving AI space and its impact on their lives. Eric is based in New York City.
Anthropic’s new Claude 3.5 Haiku AI model is 4 times more expensive than its predecessor
Your doctor may have an AI assistant taking notes during your next Zoom call
‘That was never the plan’: Arcane creators dismiss claims that the hit Netflix show was going to run for five seasons
