Apple is in talks to pay publishers to use their content to power the upcoming Siri AI, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. The tech giant has reached out to publishers in recent months about using their content to provide Siri with access to current news and information. Apple has proposed a variable compensation model that would pay publishers when their content is used, rather than through a fixed licensing fee. This marks a departure from the standard industry practice of guaranteed fees, which are generally tied to broad access to content, rather than a pay-as-you-go model. Apple has considered a nine-figure budget for the payments, the report says. Apple did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. The discussions come as Apple has been working to significantly enhance Siri, years after promising users a smarter and more capable AI assistant. Siri AI is expected to roll out later this year.
This shift in payment structure matters because it changes how news organisations monetise their digital assets in the generative AI era. A pay-per-use approach aligns revenue directly with actual consumption, potentially offering a fairer deal for publishers compared to flat fees that might not reflect usage volume. It also signals Apple’s intent to integrate real-time, licensed information into its assistant without relying solely on aggregated data or public domain sources. The outcome could set a precedent for how large tech firms acquire content for their AI models in the future.
- Payments are triggered only when specific content is accessed by users.
- The proposed budget for these payments is in the nine-figure range.
- The new model departs from standard fixed licensing fee arrangements.
