{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-20/forbes-google-paid-news-ai-pilot","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-20/forbes-google-paid-news-ai-pilot.md","title":"Forbes Joins Google Paid AI News Pilot as Referrals Fall 45%","headline":"Forbes Joins Google's Paid News AI Pilot, Citing 45% Referral Traffic Decline","description":"Forbes joined Google's paid News AI pilot for citation data and insights, as its referral traffic fell about 45% year over year.","section":"Partnerships","published_at":"2026-10-20T05:01:15+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-20T05:01:15+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["Forbes joined Google's paid News AI pilot, which pays publishers for enhanced content use in AI features.","Forbes chief innovation officer Nina Gould said the company's referral traffic fell about 45% year over year.","Google's program, launched last December with the Guardian and the Washington Post, now includes more than 400 publications."],"companies":[{"name":"Forbes","is_primary":true,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00009ue/forbes","website":"http://www.forbes.com"},{"name":"Google","is_primary":false,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00000r9/google","website":"https://www.google.com"}],"source":{"publisher":"Digiday","title":"Forbes looks to Google AI pilot for insights as publishers seek value beyond the click","url":"https://digiday.com/media/forbes-looks-to-google-ai-pilot-for-insights-as-publishers-seek-value-beyond-the-click/?utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=general-rss"},"other_sources":[],"tags":["Partnerships","Forbes","Google"],"body_markdown":"[Forbes](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00009ue/forbes) has joined [Google](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/00000r9/google)'s paid News AI pilot, which gives Google expanded rights to use the publisher's content in AI features, Forbes chief innovation officer Nina Gould said at Digiday's Media Strategies London event, [Digiday](https://digiday.com/media/forbes-looks-to-google-ai-pilot-for-insights-as-publishers-seek-value-beyond-the-click/?utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=general-rss) reported. Gould said the partnership was paid but declined to discuss the terms.\n\n## How the Google News AI Pilot Works\n\nThe program pays participating publishers for Google's use of enhanced content as it develops AI features, including in-depth article overviews on Google News publisher pages and customizable audio briefings. The features include attribution and direct links to publishers' original content. Forbes will receive citation data and other insights into how its content performs across different experiences on Google's platform, which the company said will help it understand how different categories of content work in different contexts and inform its own products.\n\n\"It really is designed to experiment with experiences within their kind of consumer-facing discovery services to look at ways that publishers' content can engage audiences ahead of a click,\" Gould said. Google first launched the program last December with publishers including the Guardian and the Washington Post. It has recently expanded its range of publishers to include titles like Forbes and Reach, taking the total participating publications to more than 400, it stated in a blog post last week. Gould said Forbes' referrals were down about 45% year over year, sharpening the company's focus on building a more direct, loyal audience rather than relying on page views alone.\n\n## Forbes' Prediction Platform and Revenue Push\n\nForbes launched ForbesPredict in beta in February 2026, a prediction platform built with Axiom that lets readers forecast news outcomes and build reputation through accuracy tracking, according to [akta.pro company records](https://akta.pro/company-data). The same records show Forbes diversified revenue into direct-to-consumer streams including the Forbes Wine Club, expanded membership programs, and e-commerce initiatives to reduce dependence on traffic-based advertising. Forbes also expanded its Digital Assets vertical covering cryptocurrency, blockchain, NFTs, DeFi, and Web3 education.\n\n## Earlier Forbes Moves\n\nForbes partnered with media technology startup Axiom in January 2026 to launch ForbesPredict, a prediction platform that allows readers to predict outcomes on news stories with aggregated real-time results and reputation building through accuracy, according to akta.pro company records. Forbes also partners with market research firm Statista for annual rankings including Best Employers, Best Banks, Best-In-State lists, and America's Best Recruiting Firms, with Statista providing independent survey data and methodology support. Forbes operates over 50 international licensed editions globally including Forbes Asia, Forbes Europe, Forbes Africa, Forbes India, Forbes China, Forbes Japan, and Forbes Korea.\n\n## Reach's Time-Limited Agreement\n\nReach CEO Piers North stressed to Digiday that the fact the agreement is time-limited means that both parties can assess whether it has been mutually beneficial ahead of any potential renewal or renegotiation. U.K. publisher Reach, owner of titles including Daily Mirror and OK! Magazine, has also recently joined the paid program.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}