Microsoft and Semafor have partnered to use AI chatbots to create news stories.
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Microsoft is working with media start-up Semafor to use its artificial intelligence chatbot to help develop news stories — part of a journalistic outreach.
As part of the agreement, Microsoft is paying an undisclosed sum of money to Semafor to sponsor a breaking news feed called “Signals”. The companies would not share financial details, but the amount of money is “substantial” to Semafor’s business, said a person familiar with the matter. Signals will offer a feed of breaking news and analysis on big stories, with about a dozen posts a day.
For a breaking news event, Semafor journalists will use AI tools to quickly search for reporting and commentary from other news sources across the globe in multiple languages. A Signals post might include perspectives from Chinese, Indian or Russian media, for example, with Semafor’s reporters summarising and contextualising the different points of view, while citing its sources.
The goal is to offer different points of view from across the globe — a key focus for Semafor since its launch in 2022. Semafor co-founder Ben Smith emphasised that Signals will be written entirely by journalists, with artificial intelligence providing a research tool to inform posts. Microsoft on Monday was also set to announce collaborations with journalist organisations including the Craig Newmark School of Journalism, the Online News Association and the GroundTruth Project.
The partnerships come as media companies have become increasingly concerned over generative AI and its potential threat to their businesses. News publishers are grappling with how to use AI to improve their work and stay ahead of technology, while also fearing that they could lose traffic, and therefore revenue, to AI chatbots — which can churn out humanlike text and information in seconds.
