FIPP announces a trio of AI-related actions for its members
No subject led to more discussion, debate and disquiet at last year’s FIPP World Media Congress than AI and especially the impact of publisher content being used without permission, attribution or fair remuneration. Following the topics and concerns raised at the event in Madrid, FIPP has decided to take a number of actions to help our members thrive in the new AI age.
Firstly, the FIPP Advisory Board has set up an AI Working Group, led by Elsa Esparbé, Head of Global Business Development at RBA, and Tim Bulley, International Development Director at Time Out Group. The group’s mission will be to help develop a strategic framework and clear, practical steps that members can take to help ensure they are in the best possible position to protect their assets, IP and audiences.
FIPP has also published a survey to assess the real-world impact and sustainability of publisher licensing deals with AI companies. The study arrives at a pivotal moment for the media industry as publishers weigh up the pros and cons of striking content deals with tech companies.
The Reuters Institute’s Journalism and Technology Trends and Predictions 2026 report indicates that only 20% of publishers expect licensing revenues from AI companies to be substantial, with half (49%) anticipating a minor contribution.
Given the financial strain that zero-click searches and further adoption of AI chatbots are already putting on publishers, having clarity about the type of deals being struck between media companies and Big Tech is absolutely vital.
The survey will aim to collect comprehensive data to determine whether these agreements adequately protect publishers’ future revenues or merely provide short-term relief while underlying traffic and revenue losses accelerate.
The study will also explore whether publishers with licensing agreements are experiencing more or less audience migration to LLM interfaces compared to those without deals – something that will help validate whether licensing partnerships offer protection against traffic displacement.
The data will help strengthen the media industry’s collective negotiating position and inform policy discussions. Most importantly, it will help us determine what best next course of action for the newly formed AI Working Group, where the issues are and what we can effectively and efficiently do to help our members.
Gist the answer
The third AI-related action taken by FIPP involves a partnership with ProRata to give FIPP members access to the world’s first decentralised AI answer engine: Gist Answers.
Instead of losing traffic, brand authority and revenue to AI platforms, publishers can embed AI directly into their own environments, driving engagement and unlocking new revenue streams while maintaining control of their content.
Gist Answers is an easy-to-implement, lightweight AI engagement tool, which is distributed by publishing partners across their proprietary media channels. It is powered by the largest licensed content database in Gen AI, with every answer including independent, claims-based attribution.
Publishers can earn their fair share of revenue wherever their content creates value – on their site or across the Gist network. And Gist Answers uses retrieval-based AI only (RAG), meaning there is no model training on the publisher’s content and has full removability.
Under the new deal with ProRata, participation is voluntary, free and non-exclusive for FIPP Members, with the ability to withdraw at any time.
Access the participation form here.
The potential benefits of using Gist Answers are huge. Early integrations delivered nearly three times longer session durations and page views leading to stronger relationships with audiences and a higher return propensity.
Publishers retain 100% of monetisation around the widget on their own sites and receive 50% of revenue from AI ads embedded within the answer proportional to their content’s contribution to that answer.
Gist Answers will also help publishers establish a data-driven content strategy by observing how audiences interact with the AI engagement tool and follow-up prompts. Early use cases show that content shaped by Gist Answers engagement data delivers double the standard engagement.
