OpenAI Collaborates with Hearst, Publisher of Cosmopolitan and Elle

Hearst is the latest major U.S. publisher to license its content to OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. Announced on Tuesday, this partnership will see content from over 60 Hearst-owned publications, including prominent titles like Esquire, Cosmopolitan, and Elle, integrated into ChatGPT and other OpenAI products. Hearst also owns the San Francisco Chronicle and aims to ensure that when its content is featured, ChatGPT will provide citations and direct links.

Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed. Unlike a previous partnership OpenAI established with Dotdash Meredith in May, the deal with Hearst does not include collaboration on ad technology.

Jeff Johnson, president of Hearst's Newspapers unit, emphasized, “As generative AI matures, it’s essential that journalism created by professional journalists be at the core of all AI products. This agreement will incorporate the trustworthy and curated content of Hearst Newspapers’ award-winning journalists into OpenAI’s products, like ChatGPT, resulting in more timely and relevant outcomes.”

This announcement follows OpenAI's recent success in raising a record $6.6 billion in new venture capital. Since the start of 2024, OpenAI has also signed licensing agreements with The Financial Times and Condé Nast, which publishes Vogue, The New Yorker, and Wired. However, not all publishers have embraced partnerships with OpenAI; in late 2022, The New York Times filed a lawsuit against the company, followed by Alden Global Capital publications, including the Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News, who later initiated their own legal actions.