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Reach agrees AI content deal with Google, with its CEO calling it a template

Reach gave Google paid access to expanded rights to use news from its UK and Ireland portfolio for Google's news AI pilot. Digiday understands the deal runs for two years. Amounts were not disclosed.

LONDON, October 16, 2026 - Reach plc, publisher of the Daily Express, Daily Star and OK! Magazine, agreed a deal with Google that gives Google paid access to expanded rights to use news content from its UK and Ireland portfolio for Google's news AI pilot. Digiday understands the deal has a two-year time stamp. Financial terms were not disclosed.1

Terms of the deal

Digiday reported that, in return for payment, Google can use Reach's content in experimental AI features and ways of delivering news while the companies explore whether those features help engage audiences. Reach's chief executive, Piers North, said the deal lets Google access Reach's content, lets Reach monetize it, and gives Reach visibility into how the content is used.1

North described it as a time-limited deal, so there will be a renewal conversation. He said the usage data will help Reach judge the value of the deal, and would give it leverage at renegotiation if the numbers are strong. He said he wanted to set the rules of the game: that content cannot be accessed and used without permission, with the cost and framework to follow.1

Background

Reach said it has seen well over 100 million successful scrapes of its content across its portfolio in the past six months, and that it has sent OpenAI a cease-and-desist letter. North said Reach is in discussions with Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft.1 Google said at the time that more than 400 publications now take part in its News AI pilot.2

What it means for data sellers

Reach's approach is a playbook for a seller with leverage but without a headline deal: sign one agreement to set a template, then press others that use the content without paying. Time-limited terms keep options open, since neither side yet knows what the data is worth.

Sellers should also ask for usage visibility in the contract. Knowing how a buyer uses the content is what lets a seller price the next renewal, and it is rarely offered unless requested.

This entry is a news summary. SellYourAIData was not involved in the deal.

How the deal came together

  1. Reach agreed a deal with Google. In mid-October 2026 Reach confirmed it had agreed a deal for Google's news AI pilot.
  2. Google gets expanded rights. Google can use Reach UK and Ireland content in experimental AI features and ways of delivering news.
  3. The term is limited. Digiday understands the deal has a two-year time stamp, and Reach's CEO said a renewal conversation will follow.
  4. Reach pressed other AI firms. Reach said it had sent OpenAI a cease-and-desist letter over scraping.

Takeaways for companies with data

  • A time-limited deal lets the seller renegotiate once the value is clear.
  • The seller used the deal as a template while pressing other buyers who had not paid.
  • Reach asked for visibility into how its content is used, not only payment.

Sources

Every numbered reference above points to an entry here. Figures come from these pages as of the date shown at the top of the article. Where a source reports a number it got from unnamed people, the text says so.

  1. Reach CEO touts Google AI deal as a template, steps up pressure on OpenAI over scraping (Digiday, October 2026)
  2. Google now pays 400 publications to feed AI features in Google News (PPC Land, October 2026)

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About the AI Data Deal Tracker

SellYourAIData tracks publicly reported sales and licenses of data to AI companies, with the price, terms and sources for each. Entries are checked against public reporting and updated as deals change. SellYourAIData was not involved in this deal. To ask what your company's data could sell for, get a free valuation. To report a deal, contact us.