Publishers' Sites Under Threat from OpenAI and Microsoft AI Tools

OpenAI and Microsoft executives have admitted that their AI tools pose a threat to the publishing industry, according to an unsealed court filing. The admissions were made in a motion for summary judgment in the copyright case filed by The New York Times and other publishers.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified during discovery that conversations with chatbots have 'substituted' for publisher sites. Nick Turley, a senior executive at OpenAI, wrote '[o]ur products are largely substitutive, period.'

The unsealed motion was released on September 17, 2026. The court filing is part of an ongoing copyright case filed by several publishers against the tech giants.