Quick answer: Newly unredacted filings in The New York Times’ copyright lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft reveal internal admissions that AI products pose an “existential threat” to publishers. OpenAI’s Nick Turley called the products “largely substitutive” of journalism, while internal Microsoft data showed Copilot answers cut click-through to Times content by up to 93% compared to standard Bing search results.
What happened
Court filings unsealed this week in the ongoing Times litigation include internal communications from both companies. Nick Turley, who leads ChatGPT at OpenAI, reportedly warned internally that publishers face an existential threat because AI products were already substituting for the journalism they’re trained on. Microsoft director Brent Hecht separately called the underlying data usage “an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions.”
The filings also describe OpenAI staff finding a workaround around the Times’ paywall, which reportedly drew an approving response from OpenAI president Greg Brockman.
Why it matters
These admissions land as evidence of market harm, a central element in fair-use legal defenses, and hand publishers unusually direct internal language to support their case. It’s also a striking real-world data point behind the traffic trends this site has been tracking, including AI Overview links now routing to AI Mode instead of websites and AI Overviews cutting CTR 23.1% in France. A 93% click-through decline, even if specific to one publisher and one product, is one of the largest such figures reported to date.
Key facts
- Filings unsealed this week in NYT v. OpenAI and Microsoft
- OpenAI’s Nick Turley: publishers face an “existential threat”
- Microsoft’s Brent Hecht called the data usage “an astonishing theft”
- Internal data: Copilot cut NYT click-through rate by up to 93% vs. Bing search
FAQ
Does this end the lawsuit or decide fair use?
No — these are internal admissions submitted as evidence; both companies continue to argue their training practices qualify as transformative fair use.
Does the 93% figure apply broadly?
It reflects internal Microsoft data specific to Copilot answers versus Bing search results for Times content, not a universal figure across all publishers or AI products.
Related reading
- AI Overviews Now Send Clicks to AI Mode Instead of Websites
- AI Overviews Cut Click-Through Rate 23.1% in France
- More AI industry coverage
Source: eWeek
