Generative AI is rapidly reshaping how audiences access and consume information. It’s already used by 1 billion monthly users every month.

To secure their future and participate meaningfully in these new channels, news publishers must act decisively to take control of their destiny. Betting their future on regulation or legislation alone is too risky, while bilateral one-off deals are too rare and ineffectual at shifting the market dynamics.

As outlined in our previous blog post, the industry urgently needs coordinated, collective action. Today’s market structure leaves publishers fragmented and negotiating from a position of weakness. Without a united approach, news companies will cede control over their content, its value, and the future to the few AI companies who control the dollars, data, and distribution.

As the momentum for collective action swells, the logical next question arises: What must collective action deliver to sustain a healthy, thriving publisher ecosystem?

The three principles of collective action

Collective action must establish a fair, durable foundation upon which publishers and AI platforms can build their relationships. This foundation consists of three principles:

1. Fair and auditable compensation.

Revenue must be shared equitably and be tied to the value each publisher’s content generates. A good deal requires full transparency — not trust. Attribution, usage data, and value generation must be accurate, verifiable, and auditable.

2. Clear credit and brand visibility.

Every piece of content that powers AI outputs must carry clear, accurate credit and citation. This reinforces the credibility and reliability of the AI outputs by linking them to verified, high-quality sources.

It also ensures publishers, regardless of their size, build and extend their brand equity through their contributions. Brand equity is a hard-won asset that has been built over years, decades, and sometimes centuries. It must not be diluted or lost without a fight.

3. Unrestricted opt-out and control.

Ultimate control over content must remain firmly with publishers. Collective action must not mean ceding autonomy. News publishers must be able to opt in or withdraw themselves from collective agreements at any time.

A glimpse of success

If anyone doubts that collective action can yield results, look to Germany. Recently, the German music association, GEMA, won a landmark copyright infringement case against OpenAI for using popular song lyrics in generative answers without compensating the rights holders.

This ruling reinforces the principle of collective rights in the AI era and is proof that, when industries act together, change is possible.

The final word

More users are accessing publishers’ content each day through generative AI. This moment represents enormous opportunity with new ways to reach audiences and unlock value but also tremendous risk if the current market dynamics that favour big tech prevail.

The question is no longer if we need collective action but how quickly we can implement it — and what we insist it delivers:

• Credit: Clear credit and citations when content is used to extend brand equity.
• Control: The freedom for news publishers to join or withdraw from agreements at their discretion.
• Compensation: Fair, verifiable attribution and revenue allocation tied to the value content creates.

The tide is coming in. Let’s ensure it lifts us all.

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