Last year, OpenAI announced a collaboration with Le Monde, and now Perplexity is joining the ranks: the French newspaper has officially revealed a second partnership with a leading American AI company. This move signifies continued efforts by major media organizations to integrate AI technology into their operations and revenue models.
" It would be natural and virtuous for European players to follow this path," remarked Jérôme Fenoglio, director of Le Monde, along with Louis Dreyfus, chairman of the publication’s executive board. Their remarks highlight a broader industry trend towards embracing AI collaborations and monetization strategies.
Sharing Advertising Revenue and Providing API Access to Perplexity
Perplexity’s approach to these partnerships is encapsulated in what they call their "Publisher’s Program," slated to launch in summer 2024. This initiative centers on three main components:
- Revenue sharing: Perplexity has integrated advertising features into its platform with the “Related Questions” tool. Brands can target specific questions, and media partners receive a portion of the revenue generated when their content is featured or referenced through user interactions. This creates a new monetization avenue aligned with AI-driven content suggestions.
- Free API access for publishers: Media outlets can develop their own response engines based on their content by leveraging Perplexity’s APIs. The company also offers integration options for its related questions technology, enabling publishers to embed AI-powered features directly into their websites and apps.
- One year of free access to Perplexity Enterprise Pro for staff: Employees of partner organizations will gain complimentary access to this advanced platform to support content creation and internal workflows.
OpenAI’s Role in Content Rights and Model Training
Major international outlets such as TIME, Fortune, and Der Spiegel were part of the first wave of partners announced alongside this new strategy. Der Spiegel, the esteemed German publication, had previously committed to a three-year partnership. By late 2024, other prominent publishers had also joined, including the Los Angeles Times, The Independent, and Prisa Media, which owns outlets like El País, Cadena SER, As, and Cinco Días. Notably, Prisa Media had already struck a deal with OpenAI in March 2024, concurrently with Le Monde, signaling a growing wave of collaboration.
Le Monde described the partnership as a potential source of "significant additional revenues, including a share of neighboring rights." In return, OpenAI can utilize Le Monde’s content to improve the accuracy and reliability of its responses, especially for ChatGPT, and to train large language models (LLMs). This holds considerable implications for both the monetization of journalism and the development of AI systems reliant on proprietary media content.
Development of a Custom Search Engine on the Sonar Platform
The agreement with Perplexity does not involve training AI models directly but supports the development of enhanced "search engine" capabilities. Each time the response engine references an article from Le Monde, a link to the source will be embedded, providing visibility to the publisher and fostering additional traffic.
Moreover, the partnership envisions the integration of a proprietary search tool, based on Perplexity’s Sonar platform. In the coming months, a natural language search engine will be launched on Le Monde’s website and apps. This engine’s deployment will be contingent upon a contractual commitment to the relevance and reliability of responses—underscoring the preliminary stage of this innovation and its dependence on maintaining quality standards.
AI-Driven Content Automation and Enhancements
So far, AI has been utilized in various ways by Le Monde to enhance its content operations:
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Article translation into English: Utilizing an in-house developed tool built upon ChatGPT technology (originally, translations were handled by DeepL). Translated articles are reviewed and edited by English-speaking journalists before publication.
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Audio production: Converting articles into audio form via services provided by Azure.
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Video subtitles and translation: Automating the translation and captioning of multimedia content.
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Graphic editing: Enhancing visual backgrounds within certain video thumbnails.
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Transcription services: Using Trint software to transcribe interviews and recordings into text.
- Wire service editing assistance: Employing OpenAI tools like ChatGPT for typographic and editorial support in preparing news briefs.
Initially, Le Monde emphasized openness to various collaborative formats, including subscription offers and paid services, to diversify revenue streams.
According to financial disclosures in 2023, Le Monde reported revenues of €176.3 million, while the entire Groupe Le Monde, which includes media titles like Nouvel Obs, Télérama, HuffPost, and Courrier International, accounted for €304.5 million. These figures underline the financial significance and strategic importance of digital innovation partnerships in the media landscape.
