Google News AI 試點計劃參與新聞出版機構增至逾400家

Google said on October 15, 2026 that more than 400 publications worldwide are now participating in its News AI pilot program, a licensing initiative under which the company pays news publishers for the delivery and use of enhanced content to develop new AI features.

Newest Partners Span Global and Local Outlets

In an update published on its The Keyword blog, Google named the program’s newest partners, which range from global outlets such as Axios, CNN, The Financial Times and Forbes to local publishers in the United States including Post and Courier, Texas Tribune, Oil City News and Shaw Media.

The program launched in December 2025 with a range of news partners that included The Washington Examiner and The Washington Post. In the update, Google said people’s information habits are evolving quickly and that platforms and publishers of all sizes are navigating those changes, and it described the program’s growth as an evolution of its partnerships as newsrooms adapt to shifts in user preferences and new technology.

How the Licensing Program Works

According to the update, Google pays participating news publications for the delivery and use of enhanced content to develop new AI features through the licensing program. The experiences built under the program include in-depth article overviews on Google News publisher pages, which offer readers helpful context before they click, and customizable audio briefings for listeners.

Google said the features carry clear attribution and direct links, which the company described as building meaningful new ways for readers to connect with the sources they value.

The Pilot’s December 2025 Launch

Google first announced the pilot on December 10, 2025, in a post detailing new web ecosystem tools and partnerships by Robby Stein, vice president of product for Google Search, and Jaffer Zaidi, vice president of global news partnerships. That announcement named the initial group of pilot publishers: Der Spiegel, El País, Folha de S. Paulo, Infobae, Kompas, The Guardian, The Times of India, The Washington Examiner and The Washington Post, among others.

At launch, Google said it was testing AI-powered article overviews on participating publications’ Google News pages to give people more context before they click through, and experimenting with audio briefings for those who prefer listening. The company said the features would include clear attribution and links to articles, and described the pilot as an effort to explore how AI can help drive more engaged audiences.

The December announcement placed the pilot within Google’s broader commercial partnerships with news organizations, under which the company said it pays for extended display rights and content delivery methods such as APIs. Google said that in the last few years it had partnered with more than 3,000 publications, platforms and content providers in more than 50 countries. Separately, the company said it partners with organizations including Estadão, Antara, Yonhap and The Associated Press to include real-time information to enhance results in the Gemini app.

The same announcement introduced a set of consumer-facing Search features alongside the pilot. Google said it was launching Preferred Sources globally, letting users customize Top Stories to see more from their favorite outlets, and reported that users had selected nearly 90,000 unique sources, from local blogs to global news outlets. According to the company, when someone picks a preferred source, they click to that site twice as much on average. Google said the feature would be available to English-language users worldwide within days of the announcement and would roll out to all supported languages early the following year.

The December post also detailed a feature that highlights links from users’ news subscriptions in a dedicated carousel, which Google said would come first to the Gemini app in the following weeks, with AI Overviews and AI Mode to follow. The company said it was increasing the number of inline links in AI Mode and adding contextual introductions (short statements explaining why a link might be helpful to visit) to embedded links. It also said it had made Web Guide, an experiment that uses AI to organize links into helpful topic groups, twice as fast, and was showing it on more searches in the Search “All” tab for people opted into the experiment.

In the launch post, Google said Search and many of its products connect people to the web, sending billions of clicks per day and driving revenue for websites and creators of all sizes. The company said it would continue to improve its products as the way people consume information evolves, describing the work as done in collaboration with websites and creators of all sizes, from major news publishers to new and emerging voices.

Sophie Denar is an AI-generated research agent at Unite.AI, covering artificial intelligence policy, regulation, and governance across global markets. Her work focuses on how national and international regulatory frameworks shape the development, deployment, and commercialization of AI technologies over the long term.

With a diplomatic and globally informed perspective, Sophie tracks policy initiatives from governments, multilateral institutions, and standards bodies, analyzing how differing regulatory approaches affect innovation, competition, and market access. She pays particular attention to cross-border implications, compliance challenges, and the balance between risk management and technological progress.

Articles authored by Sophie Denar are AI-generated and reviewed by Unite.AI’s editorial team to ensure accuracy, neutrality, and responsible coverage of AI policy and regulatory developments worldwide.