Facebook’s parent company Meta has struck a new multi-year deal with Reuters to include the news organization’s content in responses from its AI chatbot.
Starting on Friday, “users of Meta’s AI chatbot feature in the U.S. will have access to real-time news and information from Reuters when they ask questions about news or current events,” according to Axios, the first outlet to report the news.
Meta’s AI chatbot is built into the search and messaging features on its apps, which includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Altogether, Meta’s apps have 3.27 billion users.
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TheWrap on Friday asked Meta’s AI chatbot on Instagram if the company had a new deal with Reuters, and the chatbot said it did.
“Reuters has indeed partnered with Meta in a multi-year deal to bring its news content to Meta’s AI chatbot,” the bot responded.
It added the “partnership is a significant move for Meta, marking its first major AI news deal, and will enable users to access trustworthy information directly within the chatbot.”
A Meta spokesperson confirmed the Reuters partnership to TheWrap shortly afterwards.
“While most people use Meta AI for creative tasks, deep dives on new topics or how-to assistance, this partnership will help ensure a more useful experience for those seeking information on current events,” the spokesperson said.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The deal comes a month after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he believed his company would strike “certain partnerships” to bolster its AI responses, but that “individual creators or publishers tend to overestimate the value” of their content.
“My guess is that there are going to be certain partnerships that get made when content is really important and valuable,” Zuckerberg told The Verge.
Moving forward, Meta’s AI chatbot will cite Reuters’ stories in its answers, as well as provide links to the outlet’s content. Reuters will be compensated for its reports, a source told Axios.
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