Microsoft Signs Deal to Use Nine News Content in AI Assistant Copilot

The logo of Microsoft conversational and AI-powered assistant, Copilot, on a phone and a screen, in Mulhouse, France, on Oct. 28, 2025. Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty ImagesMicrosoft has inked a deal with Australian broadcaster and publisher Nine Entertainment governing the use of its news content in the company’s Copilot AI platform.Among Nine’s news-producing assets are TV station Channel Nine, and major metropolitan newspapers and digital mastheads, including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Australian Financial Review.Microsoft said the agreement would allow Nine’s content to play a “crucial role in AI outputs generated by millions of Microsoft Copilot users.”The agreement will allow Copilot to reference Nine’s news content when responding to user queries, helping to provide more contextualised and grounded responses.The AI tool will also display headlines, snippets and summaries, directing users to Nine’s websites to read the full stories.“By referencing real-time reports from Nine’s publishing mastheads, the system ensures Copilot outputs are grounded in verified facts while including references for its users,” Microsoft said.According to the B2B media and information platform Business of Apps, Copilot reportedly has over 218 million total active users across Windows, mobile apps, and website as of mid-2026. It has been downloaded 88 million times since its launch.The deal is the first of its kind between Microsoft and a major news media company, with Nine CEO Matt Stanton describing it as a “win-win” that provides long-term copyright and intellectual property protection for both companies.Microsoft Australia and New Zealand President Jane Livesey said the agreement was a forward-thinking partnership that showed how technology and media companies can collaborate to support Australian journalism.“As AI continues to evolve, the role of verified, premium journalism in grounding these outputs is essential,” she said.In March 2021, Australia passed the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code to encourage major search engines and social media platforms to negotiate payment with eligible news organisations for making their news content available on their services.Following the introduction of the Code, Google and Meta reached voluntary commercial agreements with a number of Australian news media organisations worth an estimated $250 million over three years.In April 2026, the Labor government announced it was considering introducing a News Bargaining Incentive (NBI), which would impose a 2.25 percent levy on the Australian-sourced revenue of eligible digital platforms unless they negotiate commercial agreements with news organisations to pay for their content.The proposal was Labor’s response to Meta’s decision not to renew its agreements with Australian news publishers in 2024.