Meta has finalized commercial AI data agreements with several news publishers to integrate real-time global, entertainment, and breaking news into its AI chatbot, Meta AI. This initiative aims to enhance the chatbot's capacity to deliver current and relevant information to users, the company announced on Friday.
Under these agreements, Meta AI will surface information and provide direct links from various content sources when users pose news-related queries. These responses are designed to enable users to discover timely content while also directing traffic to publishers' websites for deeper engagement. Initial partners include CNN, Fox News, Fox Sports, Le Monde Group, the People Inc. portfolio of media brands, The Daily Caller, The Washington Examiner, and USA Today, with Meta indicating plans to expand these partnerships in the future.
This move marks a strategic shift for Meta regarding news content. The company had previously moved away from news on its platforms, including discontinuing Facebook's "News" tab in the U.S. and Australia in 2024. Additionally, Meta had ceased compensating news publishers in 2022. The new agreements represent a reversal of this policy, with Meta now compensating partners to bolster its AI chatbot with up-to-date news access.
In a blog post, Meta stated its commitment to developing Meta AI to be "more responsive, accurate, and balanced." The company acknowledged the inherent challenges AI systems face in keeping pace with real-time events and aims to improve Meta AI's ability to deliver timely and relevant information with diverse viewpoints through the integration of varied news sources. This strategy also aligns with Meta's efforts to attract more users to its AI chatbot and maintain competitive positioning within the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence sector, following reported performance issues with Llama 4 earlier in the year.
Meta AI is currently available in over 200 countries. Users can access the chatbot through the company's existing applications, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, as well as via a standalone Meta AI application.
