Meta has announced on Friday that it has signed several commercial AI data agreements with major news publishers—including USA Today, People Inc., CNN, Fox News, The Daily Caller, the Washington Examiner, and France’s Le Monde—to supply “real-time” news and updates through its Meta AI chatbot, Axios and Reuters reported.
The partnerships will allow the company to surface information and link directly to participating publishers’ articles when users ask news-related questions.
“When you ask Meta AI news-related questions, you will now receive information and links drawn from more diverse content sources, helping you discover timely and relevant material tailored to your interests,” the company said. Meta added that it plans to expand partnerships over time and explore additional features. Terms of the individual agreements were not disclosed, according to USA Today and People Inc.
Axios reports that the new agreements give Meta access to partner content so the chatbot can deliver real-time answers on breaking news and other current events—similar to the multiyear arrangement Meta previously struck with Reuters, under which publishers are compensated for use of their material. The company says the goal is to give users access to a wider range of verified global news, entertainment, and lifestyle content, with more partners and topics to come.
Meta’s AI assistant is integrated across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. When users submit queries requiring real-time information, Meta AI will not only cite the source of its answer but also provide direct links to the relevant articles on publishers’ sites.
Notably, the roster of partners includes several conservative outlets—Fox News, The Daily Caller, and the Washington Examiner—highlighting Meta’s complicated history with news partnerships and content-moderation politics.
According to Axios, while users can still share news across Meta's non-AI products, its platforms — specifically Facebook — are no longer built to be hubs for sharing news articles. Rather, they have shifted to elevate viral video content. Facebook killed its News Tab in the US in 2024 and ended its lucrative news publisher payout program in 2022.