Apple aims to compensate publishers based on usage rather than an annual fee for providing news through Siri.

      Alexandra Bruell reported for the Wall Street Journal on August 12, referencing sources familiar with the situation. In recent months, Apple has reached out to publishers to discuss providing content that would enable Siri AI to access frequently updated news and information.

      Apple declined to provide commentary to the Journal and did not respond to TechCrunch as well.

      The structure of the deal is notable. Apple has suggested a variable compensation model where publishers would be compensated based on the usage of their content, instead of receiving a fixed licensing fee. This approach challenges the traditional model where large AI companies typically offer guaranteed fees for broad access to content, as noted by the Journal.

      The disparity in deals can be easily observed. For example, Variety reported that News Corp's agreement with OpenAI could be worth over $250 million over the next five years. Similarly, Amazon reportedly agreed to pay the New York Times between $20 million and $25 million annually, which are minimum payments regardless of content usage. In contrast, a pay-per-use model does not have a guaranteed minimum; a publisher whose content Siri seldom references will earn little, while one whose content garners significant attention will earn more that month.

      The nine-figure budget serves as an overall cap for the entire program rather than for each individual publication. Apple has not clarified how it will define usage, which is crucial for determining payment.

      Apple has engaged in similar initiatives before. Launched in 2019, Apple News+ has provided significant revenue for a select number of news and magazine outlets, though some have since opted out. Additionally, in December 2023, the New York Times reported that Apple had explored multiyear agreements worth at least $50 million with Condé Nast, NBC News, and IAC, seeking rights to train on their archives.

      Earlier deals by Apple also included rights for AI training, but the current discussions differ in purpose, as training on an archive does not equate to providing responses to recent queries.

      Past attempts by Apple to combine AI and news have not been encouraging, and publishers are aware of this. In late 2024, Apple Intelligence was released, featuring news notification summaries that often misrepresented the information and misattributed sources.

      For instance, one summary inaccurately stated that the BBC reported a suspect had shot himself, when he had not, and another incorrectly claimed that Rafael Nadal came out as gay while describing him as Brazilian instead of Spanish. This prompted concerns from ProPublica editor Ken Schwencke, and after complaints, Apple suspended the feature for news applications in January 2025. When the summaries returned in July 2025, they included a warning about accuracy, which remains.

      The technology feeding Siri AI is new. At WWDC in June, Apple unveiled a rebuilt Siri AI based on a custom Google Gemini model with 1.2 trillion parameters. Its operations are tiered: simple tasks are handled on-device, moderate ones are processed via Private Cloud Compute, and complex reasoning occurs on Google Cloud. Currently in beta, the general release is expected this autumn alongside the next iPhone, highlighting the capability to retrieve current web information.

      Such functionality is the rationale for funding from publishers. An assistant that cannot provide updates on recent events risks diminishing user engagement.

      As for European users, none of this applies to EU iPhones. Apple announced on June 8 that it could not provide Siri AI in the EU with iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, attributing the limitation to the Digital Markets Act. However, Mac and Vision Pro users in the EU do have access, while Apple Watch users cannot since the watch must be paired with a compatible iPhone running the feature. Craig Federighi attributed the delay to Brussels, stating that regulators' failure to engage constructively has left Apple without a timeline.

      The desk covered this delay when it was announced, with the Commission indicating that Apple’s proposed safeguards do not satisfy interoperability standards. Consequently, a pay-per-use model rewards publishers based on queries from devices that many Europeans cannot use for this feature. While European publishers are not excluded from participation, the majority of paying queries come from outside the EU.

      Publishers are divided on whether to participate. News Corp and Axel Springer have deals with OpenAI, whereas the New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft regarding the use of its content. The infrastructure is also evolving, as Cloudflare has set a deadline for AI crawlers to compensate publishers or face default blocking.

      The urgency of these discussions is reflected in the traffic data, as Google’s AI Overviews initially reduced publisher clicks by 58% before Google implemented features to restore some traffic. Europe is currently addressing similar concerns in court, with Denmark intervening in a Court of Justice case regarding the application of publishers’ rights under EU copyright law.

      Two important disclosures should be noted. The Journal reported on a company with which its owner does business; News Corp has a commercial agreement to provide news through Apple services and was among the first participants in Apple News+.