OpenAI and Time magazine announced on Thursday (27 June) a multi-year deal that gives the ChatGPT-maker access to more than 100 years of Time’s content.

ChatGPT will be able to link back to and cite Time’s articles in response to user queries, the companies said in a joint statement. 

At the same time, the publication will gain access to OpenAI’s technology to internally develop products. 

The news comes as global AI companies race to partner with content providers to boost the intellect of their AI models. 

OpenAI recently announced partnerships with the Financial Times, Business Insider-owner Axel Springer, Spain-based Prisa Media and France-based Le Monde. 

“We’re partnering with TIME to make it easier for people to access news content through our AI tools,” OpenAI’s COO Brad Lightcap said in a statement.

Not all news providers have been open to making partnerships with AI companies.

The New York Times sued OpenAI and major investor Microsoft following accusations that it used “millions” of articles to train the GenAI programme.

The US news publication claimed that the two businesses should be held responsible for “billions of dollars” in damages, according to the lawsuit. 

The lawsuit, which was filed on 27 December 2023, alleged that the GenAI chatbot generated certain “verbatim excerpts” from a selection of New York Times articles. All online articles by the New York Times are locked behind a paywall.