Google AI Pilot Pays Publishers Pennies on the Dollar

Google's AI contribution pilot has been paying out to around 100 digital publishers, The Information reported on Tuesday. These payments vary widely, but some smaller sites have earned less than $1,000 over several months, while one early participant is earning more than $1 million a year.

For several small and midsize sites in the pilot, the payments amount to less than 0.1% of their advertising revenue, according to people familiar with the payouts. A publisher that joined a few months ago has made about $50,000 to $60,000 so far, according to The Information report.

The help text for content creators says it earns when it 'contributes significantly' to AI-generated responses in various Google apps, but the meaning of this term is unclear. Some participants say their payments can change from month to month without explanation.