CNN, FT and Axios join Google’s paid AI licensing program

Key Points

1. CNN, the Financial Times and Axios have licensed content to Google's AI news program, Reuters reported.
2. Google said the program, piloted last year with The Washington Post, now spans more than 400 publications globally.
3. Publishers are suing AI firms over training data while search AI answers cut referral traffic to news sites.

The latest:

CNN, the Financial Times and Axios have signed on to Google’s AI news licensing program, agreeing to let the company use their journalism in generative AI features in exchange for payment, Reuters reported Thursday. Google said the program, launched as a pilot last year with partners including The Washington Post, now covers more than 400 publications worldwide. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Details:

• The terms: Under the agreements, participating publishers grant Google enhanced content rights so the company can build new AI features, and Google pays the news organizations for that content, according to Reuters. Neither side disclosed how much money is involved or how long the deals run.
• The scale: Google said the program began as a pilot last year with a small group of partners, among them The Washington Post, and has since grown past 400 publications. The company did not break down how many titles are in the United States versus other markets.
• Google’s pledge: Google said AI features built on licensed material will carry clear attribution and direct links back to publishers, framing that as a way to connect readers with sources they value. It addresses the central publisher complaint that AI answers strip away credit and traffic.
• CNN’s position: Sam Felix, CNN’s senior vice president of strategic partnerships and business development, said Google’s generative AI tools have changed how people discover information and will now help the network “explore new ways to discover and engage audiences.”
• The ownership angle: The deal is CNN’s first partnership since Paramount Skydance completed its acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, Reuters reported. Chief Executive David Ellison is seeking to position the combined company as a technology-driven media business rather than a traditional broadcaster.
• The IP argument: CNN said the agreement fits its strategy of protecting its intellectual property, and added it has multiple commercial partnerships in place and ongoing discussions with other industry players. The network did not identify those other counterparties.
• The legal backdrop: The announcement lands as publishers escalate litigation aimed at stopping AI companies from using their archives to train large language models without permission, Reuters reported. Licensing deals offer an alternative route: payment and attribution in exchange for consent.
• The traffic problem: News organizations are also contending with falling referral traffic as search engines deploy AI-generated answers that let users absorb information without clicking through to the original sites, according to Reuters. That shift undercuts the advertising model built on search-driven audiences.
• CNN’s footprint: The network runs television, streaming and digital news services worldwide, including CNN International and CNN Originals, alongside a direct-to-consumer subscription product and the CNN Newsource syndication service, according to Reuters.

Background:

Google began the program as a limited pilot last year, recruiting a handful of partners including The Washington Post to test licensing arrangements for generative AI features before expanding it across hundreds of titles.

Between the lines:

The pairing of Google’s attribution pledge with publishers’ falling referral traffic shows what is actually being negotiated: not just payment for archives, but placement in the AI answer layer that now sits between readers and news sites. For CNN, signing days into the Skydance era also gives Ellison an early proof point for his technology-driven media pitch.

What’s next

Watch whether Google discloses financial terms or publishes the full partner list, which titles join next, and whether publishers still pursuing litigation against AI firms shift toward licensing instead.