Breaking the copyright dilemma: Microsoft partners with leading media to create an AI content App Store, with Yahoo leading the testing phase

Microsoft has officially launched the “Publisher Content Marketplace” (PCM) program, aiming to create an “App Store for the AI era” that provides a centralized licensing platform for AI content.

Microsoft states that the platform will centrally display content usage terms set by publishers, making it easier for AI companies to purchase licenses for training their AI models (grounding, referring to fact support/retrieval enhancement based on real content). At the same time, content owners will receive data analytics reports based on usage to help set pricing. Yahoo, as one of the first partners, has integrated into testing.

Prior to this, generative AI has long relied on unauthorized content crawling. IT Home notes that media outlets like The New York Times have also filed copyright lawsuits against Microsoft and OpenAI. The launch of PCM directly addresses industry conflicts and has collaborated with news agencies such as Associated Press, Condé Nast, People, and Vox Media to design mechanisms. A dual-licensing system is in place.

PCM Business Model: Pay based on the value delivered by the content, supporting everything from independent publications to large media organizations.

Microsoft spokesperson Courtney Ramirez responded to inquiries about the dual-licensing approach, stating, “We will work closely with publishing partners during the pilot phase,” but declined to disclose specific integration plans. Microsoft emphasizes that PCM will reshape the digital content ecosystem—the traditional “open web → search engines” value chain is no longer suitable for the “dialogue as answers” AI era.