Google to help news outlets win subscribers

SAN FRANCISCO: Google is seeking ways to help publishers win paying subscribers for news stories, a source said.

To this end, the US Internet giant is collaborating with NewsCorp, the Financial Times, and the New York Times, according to the source.

Google was said to be ramping up its support for subscription services in recognition of the fact that such revenue is vital for publishers who can’t rely on advertising alone for financial survival.

Google declined to comment on word of this latest effort.

“We work closely with news publishers worldwide to build products that help support their business and add value to users,” Google spokesman Maggie Shiels said.

“At the moment we don’t have anything to announce.”

Google already uses its technology to let readers of online news subscribe to publishers with a single click, in an Internet age spin on tossing a free copy of a newspaper on a doorstep in the hope people sign-up for daily deliveries.

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai has made a priority of investing in artificial intelligence, and has spoken publicly about infusing the company’s array of offerings with software smarts.

Publishers have complained at times that Google is making money off their work by surfacing stories in search results. — AFP