Reddit Seeks Revised AI Data Agreement with Google
Data usage for artificial intelligence training remains a contentious issue, prompting major tech companies to forge agreements with content platforms. Reddit and Google are currently in discussions to revise their existing content-sharing agreement for AI training purposes, initially established over a year ago for a reported $60 million annually.
According to reports from Bloomberg, the negotiations center around two key areas. Firstly, reddit is proposing a shift from the current fixed payment structure to a dynamic pricing model. This would tie RedditS compensation to the frequency with which its content is cited or utilized as a source by AI platforms like Google’s AI Overviews. Reddit executives believe the current terms undervalue the contribution of their data to AI companies.
Secondly, Reddit is seeking a partnership structure designed to drive more traffic from Google searches to the Reddit platform itself, and convert those visitors into active community members. Currently, users often find answers sourced from Reddit content via Google, but do not afterward visit Reddit directly, hindering the platform’s growth and limiting the generation of new content for future AI training.
Reddit’s data is highly valuable to AI developers. Large language models rely on extensive datasets scraped from the internet, and Reddit’s format – featuring in-depth, user-driven conversations across diverse topics – is frequently cited. Data indicates Reddit is the most cited domain for AI tools such as Perplexity and Google’s AI Overviews.
This pursuit of fair compensation isn’t unique to Reddit. Other publishers, like The New York Times, have taken legal action against OpenAI and Google, alleging improper use of their content for AI training. Reddit itself has filed a lawsuit against openai rival Anthropic, claiming the AI startup illegally scraped its data to train its models.
The outcome of the Reddit-Google discussions remains uncertain, but the negotiations underscore a growing trend of content platforms seeking equitable compensation for the use of their data in the development of artificial intelligence.
