On 15 October, Google said more than 400 publications are now in its News AI licensing pilot. New names include Axios, CNN, the Financial Times, Forbes and US local titles such as the Post and Courier, Texas Tribune, Oil City News and Shaw Media. Google pays them for content used in experimental AI features, such as in-depth article overviews on Google News publisher pages and customisable audio briefings, with attribution and links back to the source.
Double click and the deal is about supply. Google needs a steady flow of trusted, licensed journalism to make its AI features work, and paying for it heads off the fights other AI companies are having with publishers. That's my read of the motive, not Google's words.
For a DTC brand, it nudges PR in a useful direction. A mention in one of these outlets may now appear in an AI overview or an audio briefing, with your name attached, as well as in the article itself. Local titles are in the mix too, alongside the big nationals.
Our PR rule is know your avatars, find where they are, then get in front of them. That hasn't changed. What has changed is that some of the places they read now carry your story further.