Google paying independent publishers to test unreleased generative AI platform

Google has announced it will begin paying independent publishers to test its unreleased generative artificial intelligence (AI) platform. The program, first reported by Adweek, allows a handful of publishers access to its AI platform in exchange for receiving analytics and feedback. Publishers are expected to use the tools to produce “a fixed volume of content” for 12 months and will receive a monthly stipend amounting to a five-figure sum annually. Participants of the program are expected to produce and publish three articles a day, one newsletter each week and one marketing campaign each month, Adweek reported. A Google representative told the outlet they’re in the early stages of providing small publishers with AI tools “to help journalists with their work.” “These tools are not intended to, and cannot, replace the essential role journalists have in reporting, creating and fact-checking their articles,” the representative said. The tools will allow publishers to create aggregated content more easily by examining already published content, summarizing it and publishing it as a new article. The development in AI tech comes as concerns about its capabilities and adoption in the media industry continue to build. Google pushed back on “speculation” that the program would republish other media outlets’ work. The “experimental tool” is designed to work with small, local publishers to produce content for their site, Meghann Farnsworth, a Google spokesperson, said in an emailed statement. She added that the program intends to “produce high quality journalism using factual content from public data sources,” including a…Google paying independent publishers to test unreleased generative AI platform