OpenAI inks Brazil media deals

Why it matters

OpenAI said on May 25 that it had signed its first media partnership in Brazil with Grupo Folha and Grupo UOL, extending its publisher-licensing model into Latin America. The agreement brings reporting from Folha de S.Paulo and UOL into ChatGPT, where users will see summaries based on those outlets’ journalism, with attribution and links back to original stories. OpenAI said the partnership also gives the two Brazilian groups access to ChatGPT Enterprise, Codex and the OpenAI API for newsroom and product work. Financial terms were not disclosed. ### What exactly did OpenAI sign in Brazil? OpenAI described the arrangement as a “strategic content partnership” with Grupo Folha and Grupo UOL, announced on May 25. The company said ChatGPT users around the world will be able to access summaries based on reporting from Folha de S.Paulo and UOL, and that the presentation will emphasize attribution, transparency and links to original sources. (openai.com) LatAm Journalism Review, citing Brazilian coverage, reported on May 26 that the deal was OpenAI’s first commercial agreement with Brazilian media companies. It said the outlets would share real-time news to feed the ChatGPT ecosystem and that the financial terms were not made public. (openai.com) ### Why do Folha and UOL matter here? Folha de S.Paulo and UOL are among Brazil’s best-known news brands, which makes the deal OpenAI’s first formal foothold with major Brazilian publishers. OpenAI said the partnership would help bring “trusted Brazilian journalism” into ChatGPT and expand access to those outlets’ reporting for its global user base. (latamjournalismreview.org) The Portuguese-language OpenAI announcement said Grupo Folha and Grupo UOL would also use OpenAI tools to explore new products, reader features and internal workflows. That puts the arrangement in the same category as other publisher deals that combine licensing with enterprise software access, rather than a narrow syndication agreement. (openai.com) ### Is this part of a broader push with publishers? Microsoft AI executive Nikhil Kolar told publishers at an AdExchanger event that they should not block AI bots and should instead license access to their sites and create content aimed at AI crawlers. AdExchanger reported on May 26 that one publishing executive said his group had already struck deals with OpenAI and Meta, while Microsoft’s publisher roster had grown to eight. (openai.com) OpenAI said in its Brazil announcement that it has been partnering with publishers in markets including the United States, Britain, France and Germany, and now Brazil. The company said the goal is to integrate trusted reporting into AI-powered products while sending users back to original sources. ### Why is Latin America the important piece? (adexchanger.com) Brazil is the first place in Latin America where OpenAI has announced this kind of media partnership, according to OpenAI and LatAm Journalism Review. That gives publishers elsewhere in the region a live example of how a licensing deal can be structured around attribution, summaries and tool access, even though the payment terms remain private. (openai.com) OpenAI separately said in a November 2025 global-affairs post that Brazil is one of its most engaged countries for AI use. That helps explain why the company would use Brazil as its first media-entry point in the region. ### How does this sit alongside OpenAI’s other AI work? OpenAI’s careers site shows the company continues to hire across research and safety, and outside reports this week pointed to a Preparedness role focused on “recursive self-improvement,” or risks tied to AI systems improving future versions of themselves. (openai.com) Business Insider, as cited by other outlets, described compensation for that role as reaching $445,000. (openai.com) Those hiring reports sit alongside OpenAI’s publisher deals rather than replacing them. On one side, the company is paying or partnering for access to trusted journalism; on the other, it is staffing research tied to more autonomous AI systems and the effect those systems could have on technical work. That pairing is an inference from the timing of the two developments, based on OpenAI’s Brazil announcement and the contemporaneous reporting on its hiring. (openai.com) ### What comes next? OpenAI said the Brazil partnership started immediately on May 25, meaning Folha de S.Paulo and UOL content is now being incorporated into ChatGPT responses with links to original reporting. Publishers and platform companies are likely to keep testing similar licensing arrangements as Microsoft and others argue for marketplace-style access rather than bot blocking. (openai.com)

Key numbers

• OpenAI said on May 25 it signed its first Brazil media partnership with Grupo Folha and Grupo UOL, bringing Folha de S.Paulo and UOL journalism into ChatGPT.
• OpenAI said more than 900 million weekly active ChatGPT users will be able to access summaries based on Folha and UOL reporting.
• Microsoft AI executive Nikhil Kolar told publishers on May 26 not to block AI bots, as licensing talks widen.
• OpenAI said on May 25 that it had signed its first media partnership in Brazil with Grupo Folha and Grupo UOL, extending its publisher-licensing model into Latin America.

What happens next

• OpenAI said on May 25 that it had signed its first media partnership in Brazil with Grupo Folha and Grupo UOL, extending its publisher-licensing model into Latin America.
• The agreement brings reporting from Folha de S.Paulo and UOL into ChatGPT, where users will see summaries based on those outlets’ journalism, with attribution and links back to original stories.
• OpenAI described the arrangement as a “strategic content partnership” with Grupo Folha and Grupo UOL, announced on May 25.

Sources

• openai.com
• latamjournalismreview.org
• openai.com
• adexchanger.com
• openai.com
• openai.com

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