OpenAI announced a partnership with TIME on June 27, granting access to TIME’s archives spanning 101 years. This collaboration allows OpenAI to enrich user responses with historical content from Time.com, ensuring responses cite and link to source material.

In return, TIME will utilize OpenAI technology to innovate new products and provide insights on integrating journalism into ChatGPT and other OpenAI offerings.

Brad Lightcap, COO of OpenAI, stated:

“Our partnership with TIME aims to enhance access to news content through our AI tools…”

Lightcap emphasized the partnership’s goal to support trustworthy journalism, echoed by TIME CEO Mark Howard, who sees it as expanding global access to reliable information.

Separately, Mother Jones’ parent organization initiated a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging unauthorized use of their content to enhance AI capabilities without permission or compensation. Monika Bauerlein, CEO of the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR), criticized the practice as unfair and a violation of copyright under the Copyright Act and Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

While recognizing the value of broad information access for AI development, Bauerlein warned against treating publishers’ content as "free raw material," which could diminish the news landscape to AI-generated summaries.

The lawsuit is ongoing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

OpenAI has established partnerships with various entities such as Reddit, Financial Times, Vox Media, Axel Springer, and News Corp (owner of Wall Street Journal and others). Concurrently, it faces lawsuits from media entities like Daily News, Chicago Tribune, and the Intercept, including a notable case with the New York Times since December 2023. OpenAI responded by noting prior discussions on cooperation with the Times before the lawsuit.