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

      On August 12, Alexandra Bruell reported for the Wall Street Journal on discussions Apple has had with publishers in recent months. The purpose of the content is to allow Siri AI access to real-time news and information that changes frequently. Apple chose not to comment to the Journal or to TechCrunch.

      Apple has presented a model of variable compensation, where publishers would be paid based on the usage of their content rather than receiving a fixed licensing fee. This approach contrasts with the standard agreements typically seen between major AI companies and news organizations, which include guaranteed fees linked to comprehensive access, according to the Journal.

      The disparity is evident in existing agreements. For example, Variety reported that News Corp's deal with OpenAI could exceed $250 million over five years. Similarly, Amazon's agreement with the New York Times was estimated to provide between $20 million and $25 million annually, with these amounts guaranteed regardless of content consumption. In a pay-per-use model, there is no guaranteed minimum; publishers whose content is seldom accessed by Siri will earn little, while those whose reports resonate with the news cycle will earn more during specific periods.

      Apple has set a nine-figure budget for the entire program, rather than for individual publications. However, it has not clarified how it will define a "use," which will significantly impact potential earnings.

      Apple has previously engaged with publishers through its Apple News+ service, launched in 2019, which has generated notable revenue for select news and magazine outlets, though some have opted out since then. In December 2023, the New York Times reported that Apple was in discussions for multiyear agreements worth at least $50 million with companies such as Condé Nast, NBC News, and IAC, specifically to acquire the rights to utilize their archives for training purposes.

      Previously, Apple’s deals included rights for AI training, but this instance differs as it focuses on real-time news responses instead of archival training.

      The last time Apple combined AI with news was in late 2024, when it introduced a feature that summarized news notifications. Unfortunately, the feature misrepresented information and attributed inaccuracies to the respective news outlets. One erroneous summary claimed that a suspect in the killing of a U.S. insurance executive had committed suicide, which was false. Another incorrectly reported that Rafael Nadal had come out as gay and identified him as Brazilian, while he is actually Spanish. Other inaccuracies included misstatements regarding sports events and non-existent articles about arrests and firings. ProPublica editor Ken Schwencke highlighted these quality issues in November 2024, leading to Apple suspending the feature for news apps in January 2025, following complaints from publishers. The summaries resumed in July 2025 but came with a warning regarding accuracy, which remains in place.

      The newly enhanced Siri AI, introduced at WWDC in June, is built on a custom Google Gemini model with 1.2 trillion parameters and operates across three tiers: simple tasks are executed on the device, moderate tasks utilize Private Cloud Compute, and complex reasoning is handled by Google Cloud. Currently in beta, a general release is anticipated this autumn alongside the next iPhone, and Apple's demonstrations included the retrieval of current web information. It is this capability that the publisher payments aim to support, as an assistant that cannot provide today’s news risks becoming obsolete.

      However, none of this applies to EU iPhones. On June 8, Apple announced that it could not launch Siri AI in the EU with iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, citing the Digital Markets Act. While Mac and Vision Pro users in the EU can access it, Apple Watch users cannot due to the need for a paired iPhone running the feature. Craig Federighi attributed the delay to Brussels, indicating that the regulators' “refusal to engage constructively” meant there was no clear timeline for release. The European Commission has stated that Apple's proposed safeguards do not satisfy interoperability requirements.

      Thus, the pay-per-use model rewards publishers based on queries made from devices predominantly unavailable to most Europeans. While European titles can still participate, the majority of profitable queries come from outside the EU.

      Publishers find themselves divided on whether to sign agreements. News Corp and Axel Springer have struck deals with OpenAI, while the New York Times has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft regarding the use of its reporting.

      Cloudflare has initiated a September deadline for AI crawlers to compensate publishers or face automatic blocking. The urgency of this situation is reflected in the diminishing traffic, as Google’s AI Overviews reduced publisher clicks by 58% before Google took measures to restore some of that traffic.

      In Europe, a related legal debate is ongoing, with Denmark intervening in a Court of Justice case concerning how Belgium enforces publishers' rights under EU copyright law.

      There are two notable disclosures worth mentioning: the Journal's story highlights a relationship between its owner and Apple's services, as News Corp has a commercial agreement with Apple, and the Journal was among the initial participants in