OpenAI has partnered with People Dotdash publisher Meredith

OpenAI is partnership with another publisher as it moves to a licensed approach to training materials. Dotdash Meredith, owner of brands like people and Better Homes and Gardenswill license its content to OpenAI to train ChatGPT, while the publisher will use the company’s AI models to improve its internal ad targeting tool.

As part of the agreement, ChatGPT will display content and links attributed to Dotdash Meredith’s posts. It also provides OpenAI with fully licensed training materials from trusted publications.

It’s a welcome change after the company got into hot water for allegedly using content for educational purposes without permission. New York Times and Alden Capital Group (owner of The Chicago Tribunee, New York Daily News and on Orlando Sentinel) sued the creator of ChatGPT, accusing him of using its content without permission. Comedian Sarah Silverman and a conspiracy-mongering car salesman (the latter for different reasons) also have.

“We haven’t been shy about the fact that AI platforms need to pay publishers for their content, and that content needs to be labeled appropriately,” wrote Neil Vogel, CEO of Dotdash Meredith, in a press release. “This deal is a testament to the great work OpenAI is doing on both fronts to partner with creators and publishers and ensure a healthy Internet for the future.”

Prior to the Dotdash Meredith deal, OpenAI entered into an agreement with Financial Times. “It is, of course, right for AI platforms to pay publishers for the use of their material,” the paper’s chief executive John Reading said in a statement last month.

Dotdash Meredith, who also owns Investopedia, Food and profite, With style and Very good, will use OpenAI models to power its D/Cipher ad targeting tool. The publisher says its ad system “connects advertisers directly with users based on the context of the content being consumed without using personal identifiers such as cookies.” It’s an industry-wide shift on the horizon as Google moves toward a cookie-free future — albeit later than originally advertised.