The Washington Post Partners with OpenAI’s ChatGPT
The Washington Post has announced a new partnership with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, making it the latest major publication to collaborate with a generative AI platform. Under this partnership, ChatGPT will now deliver verified summaries, direct quotes, and links back to original reporting by The Post in response to relevant user queries.
Still Exploring Its Own LLM, But Open to Others
The Washington Post has already been experimenting with its in-house large language model (LLM), Ask The Post AI, which answers questions related to articles the paper has published since 2016. Despite the new deal with OpenAI, the publication maintains that it remains “LLM-agnostic”—meaning it is not committed to any single AI model to power its services. This approach helps reduce tech dependency and allows future flexibility in how AI is integrated into journalism.
Also read: OpenAI Provides ChatGPT Plus for Free to Students
Part of a Bigger Playbook by OpenAI
This is not the first time OpenAI has partnered with a media player. The previous year, it had signed a multi-year agreement with News Corp. It provided News Corp with access to a broad range of recent and historical content from publications such as The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, The Times, and The Daily Telegraph. Along with this, OpenAI has had its share of notable partnerships with The Guardian, Associated Press, Axel Springer, and New York University.
At the same time, OpenAI has found itself in legal battles. The New York Times is moving forward with a lawsuit filed in 2023 over alleged copyright infringement. A federal judge recently allowed the case to proceed. Separately, the NYT also sent a cease-and-desist notice to Perplexity AI in 2024, accusing the startup of unauthorized content scraping.
In India, Asian News International (ANI) has taken OpenAI to court for allegedly scraping its website content. OpenAI has argued that copyright laws apply only to the expression of facts—not the facts themselves. The Delhi High Court is still hearing the case and has not yet delivered a verdict.
Why This Matters
Access to trustworthy, verified information is critical for improving the accuracy of generative AI outputs. But there's also a deeper issue at play: news publications continue to lose traffic to AI tools, which affects already tight revenue models.
As more media companies align with generative AI platforms, it’s worth noting that ChatGPT currently has access to the largest number of news partners compared to any other AI model. That kind of lead could tilt the balance of power—raising questions about content control and potential monopolies in the news+AI space.
Regulators and industry observers will need to keep a close watch.
