Nine Entertainment Co and Microsoft have struck an Australian-first agreement that will allow Microsoft Copilot to draw on the full text of Nine’s masthead journalism to ground its AI-generated outputs.
The deal marks the first agreement in Australia between Microsoft and a major news media company, and gives Copilot access to Nine’s professional journalism beyond paywalled previews during AI searches.
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Under the agreement, Copilot will display snippets, headlines and summaries drawn from Nine’s real-time reporting, before directing users back to Nine’s mastheads to read the complete story.
The companies said the arrangement is designed to ensure that Copilot’s outputs are grounded in verified facts and to provide users with references.
The agreement covers content from The Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Brisbane Times and WAToday.
CEO of Nine Entertainment Matt Stanton said the partnership reflected the growing importance of verified journalism in AI systems.
“As AI continues to evolve, the role of verified, premium journalism in grounding these outputs is essential,” he said. “This collaboration is a win-win, delivering for users of AI while respecting copyright and protecting the long-term value of our intellectual property.”
Nine CEO Matt Stanton
President of Microsoft Australia and New Zealand Jane Livesey said the agreement would give Copilot users a clearer path to trusted information.
“Our agreement with Nine will ground responses from Microsoft Copilot in trusted mastheads, giving people verified facts, a clear path to the full story, and confidence in what they read,” she said. “Forward-thinking partnerships like this show how technology and media companies can work together to ensure a thriving future for Australian journalism.”
Jane Livesey
Managing Director, Publishing at Nine Entertainment, Tory Maguire, said the deal was the first of its kind for Microsoft in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Microsoft has been a proactive, engaged partner who is committed to attribution of sources,” Maguire said. “This continues to unlock new revenue opportunities for our mastheads as the media ecosystem continues to evolve, supporting local and trusted Australian journalism.”
“We are meeting readers where they are, by providing important context for Copilot, we ensure AI outputs are grounded in verified facts, with an easy click-through to our websites to read the full article,” she said.
For the average user, the deal means Copilot’s AI Search results will increasingly surface Nine journalism directly in the interface – verified facts, sourced snippets, with a link back to the original masthead rather than an anonymous AI summary.
In theory, that’s a win for accuracy and for Nine’s traffic and brand visibility.
In theory, that is.
Whether it’s a safeguard for journalism or a slower-moving threat is contested.
Supporters say licensing deals like this create new revenue as search traffic declines, and attribution keeps readers connected to original reporting.
Critics argue attributed summaries can still satisfy curiosity without a click-through, trading long-term audience relationships for near-term fees.
So, while Copilot may be doing the flying, Nine’s still holding the stick… for now.