People Inc. Signs AI Licensing Deal with Microsoft to Join New Publisher Content Marketplace

People Inc., one of the largest U.S. media publishers and a subsidiary of IAC, has entered into a new AI licensing agreement with Microsoft, announced during IAC’s third-quarter earnings report. Under the deal, People Inc. will serve as a launch partner in Microsoft’s forthcoming publisher content marketplace, a platform that compensates media companies for the use of their content by AI systems, including Microsoft Copilot, which will be the first buyer.

The partnership marks People Inc.’s second AI licensing deal, following its 2023 agreement with OpenAI, and reflects its broader strategy to ensure publishers are paid for content used in AI model development. CEO Neil Vogelhighlighted that the company’s approach to blocking AI crawlers has accelerated negotiations with major technology platforms.