While many are swearing off AI and giving into the fearmongering about it killing journalism, others are making moves to benefit. A prime example is a new content partnership between Axios and OpenAI.

Axios launched Axios Local about 4 years ago. Under the recently announced deal, OpenAI will fund the expansion of Axios Local into to four new cities:

• Pittsburgh
• Kansas City, MO
• Boulder, CO
• Huntsville, AL

In addition to the funding, Axios said they’ll be able to use OpenAI’s technology to build their own AI products, processes, and systems.

What will ChatGPT get out of the deal? Content.

Companies like Axios are allowing OpenAI to use their content for ChatGPT search, which is now offering summaries and excerpts from media outlets in response to queries.

And if CEO Jim VandeHei is any indication, Axios will dive deeper into these kinds of deals. VandeHei said he expects OpenAI to be key in scaling up the Axios Local footprint to 100 or more cities.

But Axios isn’t the only one. OpenAI claims they have linked up with nearly 20 media organizations, including News Corp, The Atlantic, Vox Media, Prisa Media, Condé Nast, Hearst, and Dotdash Meredith connecting them with hundreds of outlets and publications.

“By working with OpenAI, we’re figuring out ways to make discovering and sharing our journalism more intuitive. We want to use the tools of the future to help people discover our best reporting,” ~Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic.

OpenAI isn’t the only company turning publishers into partners. And the arrangement outlined above is not the only way the media industry is extracting value from AI. Publishers who are leaning into AI are just beginning to tap into its vast potential. And for some it’s already turning into a paying bet.

Is it likely to be all giggles and gold? I doubt it.

But what’s the alternative to figuring out how to make AI work for you?

The fear, the outrage, the protesting, and the hoping that AI will wither and fade is waste. AI is here, and it’s going to be a tool in many a toolbox for the foreseeable future.

AI has the power to transform how journalists work and earn money. But only for those willing to use it.

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