NewsGuard, a company best known for rating the reliability of online news sources, on Tuesday launched NewsGuard AI, a chatbot that draws exclusively from a database of journalist-vetted stories instead of the open web.

The launch comes as concerns persist over the accuracy of AI-generated responses. NewsGuard said a yearlong audit of leading AI models found they repeated false or misleading claims on controversial news topics 35% of the time. The company argues that limited responses to vetted sources can help reduce the spread of misinformation through AI systems. 

NewsGuard AI attributes information directly to the publishers whose reporting is used in its responses, unlike other chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Perplexity.

Participanting publishers include The Atlantic and other regional newspapers, opinion journals, and public media organizations. Readers, subscribers and members of some participating outlets will receive a free trial of NewsGuard AI followed by an offer for 33% off the chatbot’s standard $6 monthly subscription. 

The company also says it will share revenue with participating publishers through a 50-50 revenue-sharing model and affiliate-style subscription referrals, though it has not publicly disclosed the formula used to calculate payouts.

NewsGuard says its journalists have reviewed more than 36,000 sources since 2018, including newspapers, magazines, opinion publications, local news outlets, independent newsletters, government websites, think tanks, hospitals and research universities. Of these, roughly 12,000 have been rated reliable and are eligible to be cited by NewsGuard AI. 

The new service enters a rapidly evolving market in which publishers are negotiating licensing agreements with AI companies while also challenging the unauthorized use of their reporting. Media organizations have struck content deals with companies including OpenAI, Amazon and Meta, even as lawsuits and public disputes over AI scraping continue across the industry.

Chris Richmond, CEO of the fact-checking website Snopes, said the arrangement addressed concerns his organization has had with other AI products.

“Snopes has restricted most AI chatbots from scraping our content,” Richmond said. “But we’re happy to partner with NewsGuard on a model that does this the right way.” 

In addition to drawing from vetted sources, NewsGuard AI says it incorporates 41 editorial safeguards. These include access to NewsGuard’s database of 64,000 debunked false claims circulating online, which the company says help prevent the chatbot from repeating known misinformation. Users can also access detailed explanations debunking false claims and share them with others. 

“Few things will matter more in the near future than the ability of humans to figure out what’s real, what’s false, and what’s confabulated nonsense,” said Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic. “This is particularly true when it comes to news.”

NewsGuard is also targeting educational institutions. Students at participating schools and universities will receive free access while enrolled. The company says the chatbot has been designed to refuse requests to write essays or reports for users. 

“NewsGuard AI can provide reliable research while not substituting for students doing their own writing and thinking,” said NewsGuard’s Chief Operating Officer Matt Skibinski.

Local language versions of NewsGuard AI will be available in French, German and Italian in September. 

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