NY Times Inks AI Licensing Agreement With Amazon
The New York Times (NYT) Company has signed a multiyear, artificial intelligence-focused licensing agreement with Amazon.
The new arrangement will bring NYT editorial content to a “variety of Amazon customer experiences,” the media company said in a news release Thursday (May 29).
“This broadens the companies’ existing relationship and will bring additional value to Amazon customers and bring Times journalism to wider audiences,” the release said.
The agreement will see Amazon license editorial content from the NYT, its NYT Cooking feature and The Athletic for AI-related uses, according to the release.
“This will include real-time display of summaries and short excerpts of Times content within Amazon products and services, such as Alexa, and training Amazon’s proprietary foundation models,” the release said.
“The collaboration will make The New York Times’s original content more accessible to customers across Amazon products and services, including direct links to Times products, and underscores the companies’ shared commitment to serving customers with global news and perspectives within Amazon’s AI products,” the release said.
The partnership is happening as Amazon is rapidly incorporating AI to improve the shopping journey.
“In a move that signals a future beyond visual browsing, the company recently began testing AI-generated audio summaries for products in its mobile app, a clear signal Amazon wants to reduce friction in product discovery, especially on mobile and voice-enabled platforms,” PYMNTS reported Wednesday (May 28). “This dovetails with the broader strategy of turning the shopping experience into a more passive, streamlined and personalized interaction, keeping users within its ecosystem.”
Amazon is also investing in AI-enhanced developer tools through Amazon Q Developer, a move that suggests that innovations such as the audio summaries are the first steps in a greater internal transformation.
“Still, not all AI-powered experiences are providing early wins for Amazon,” the report said. “The company’s deal with the automaker Stellantis to create software that the companies hoped would transform the in-car driving experience has reportedly fizzled.”
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