Google is testing an unreleased AI news tool.

Google's got a shiny new AI toy for publishers, and they're paying news outlets to play with it. Why? To get feedback and insights on how these tools can streamline workflows. Google says it is to help publishers and journalists with less cash to splash.

What's going on here?

Google's testing out AI that helps publishers churn out content fast (like, scary fast). In exchange for feedback, they're bankrolling news outlets to use the tool.

What does this mean?

Here's how it works: The AI gobbles up reports and news articles from all over the place (government websites, other outlets, you name it). Then, it mashes them all up and spits out snappy summaries in news story format.

To keep things accurate, it uses a cheeky colour-coded system to show which bits mirror the original (yellow is spot-on, then blue, then red for the least). Of course, a human editor still needs to fact-check and give it the once-over.

The deal is for news outlets to publish three stories every day with this tool and one marketing campaign every month for a five-figure payday.

Why should I care?

The first thought is that original sources might lose traffic but there’s always another side of the coin. Imagine smaller outlets pumping out news like the big guys—creating a more level ground in news reporting.

Google claims it's not about replacing journalists, just streamlining but we'll see about that. But, there's bound to be debate about the ethics of it all. Scraping content without permission is shady. Where does "AI-assisted" end and "AI-generated" begin?