Jonathan Roberts, Chief Innovation Officer at People Inc. (formerly Dotdash Meredith), is a former theoretical physicist and mapmaker for George R.R. Martin. He highlights a critical shift in the media landscape, where Google Search's traffic contribution to People Inc.'s core brands plummeted from 54% two years ago to 24% in the most recent quarter. Despite this, People Inc. achieved its eighth consecutive quarter of digital revenue growth, demonstrating adaptability to the changing environment. This growth was partly driven by performance marketing (up 38%) and licensing (up 24%), including improved performance from partners like Apple News+ and YouTube.
Roberts argues that 2025 marked a fundamental change in how AI companies view information, recognizing that high-quality, rights-cleared content is essential for improving model accuracy. This gives publishers leverage they haven't had in years. He points out that Microsoft has taken a clear position by stating publishers deserve payment for their intellectual property when integrated into AI, which he sees as a significant step forward and a potential catalyst for other platforms to follow suit.
He envisions new compensation models for publishers in the AI economy, including tollgate systems where AI companies pay for content access, revenue-share models akin to Apple News, and collective rights organizations similar to the music industry's ASCAP or BMI. Roberts stresses that these models must ensure clear rights, transparent pricing, and fast retrieval, and that the pricing should align with what publishers earn from human traffic. He notes that AI companies already charge $10 to $50 per thousand searches for web access, yet are not adequately paying content creators. For an AI future to be sustainable, publishers need to be fairly compensated to support their writers and operations. Roberts warns against accepting less than $10 per thousand human visits for content leveraged by AI.
