AI Giants Are Buying Your Unused Footage

📌TL;DR

• ChatGPT’s New Trick: OpenAI adds Tasks, making ChatGPT your smarter digital assistant.

• Cash for Content: AI giants are paying creators for unused videos—up to $4 per minute.

• Why It Matters: These moves redefine productivity and creativity, but who benefits most?

• More AI news…

Estimated reading time: 5 - 6 minutes.

TOGETHER WITH FELLOW

Automate your meeting notes

• Condense 1-hour meetings into one-page recaps

• Say goodbye to post-meeting data entry

• Claim 90 days of unlimited AI notes today

Get started free

PURR-FECT CATCH

From Cutting Room to Cash

AI giants like OpenAI, Google, and Meta are turning to a new source for training data: unpublished video content from creators.

Companies are paying between $1 and $4 per minute, with higher rates for premium-quality footage like 4K, drone shots, and 3D animation.

Even unused content from platforms like YouTube and TikTok fetches $1–$2 per minute, with some deals reportedly worth thousands of dollars.

To handle the logistics, companies like Troveo AI and Calliope Networks are brokering licensing deals, with Troveo alone paying over $5 million to creators so far.

These contracts include safeguards, ensuring footage can’t be misused to recreate creators digitally or harm their reputations.

Google is also taking steps to position YouTube as a middleman, offering creators tools to control whether their public videos can be used for AI training.

With over 17 AI companies in the mix, including OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta, the race for quality video content is heating up.

The Bigger Picture

AI companies are building video generators like Sora and Veo, but some researchers have grander ambitions.

By training on massive datasets of video, they hope to create world simulators—AI models capable of understanding physical reality on a deeper level. While this theory is controversial, it reflects the growing appetite for high-quality video training data.

For creators, this marks an unexpected windfall. Footage that previously had little to no value can now generate significant revenue, offering a fresh avenue for monetization.

My Take:

This is more than just an opportunity to make money, it’s a pivotal moment for creators and the AI industry alike.

On one hand, creators now have a new revenue stream, especially for unused content that would otherwise sit idle.

On the other hand, it raises questions about fairness: is $1–$4 per minute a good deal, given the immense value AI companies derive from this data?

Understanding the contracts and long-term implications of licensing their work is crucial.

Safeguards are in place now, but will they hold as the demand for data grows?

This trend also signals a shift in how AI companies source data… moving away from scraping to ethical partnerships with content creators.

It’s a step in the right direction for transparency, but one that demands vigilance.

After all, your cutting-room-floor footage could soon be training the next big thing in AI.

A MESSAGE FROM THE AI REPORT

There’s a reason 400,000 professionals read this daily.

Join The AI Report, trusted by 400,000+ professionals at Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. Get daily insights, tools, and strategies to master practical AI skills that drive results.

Sign up now for free and work smarter, not harder.

EXTRA TREAT

ChatGPT Gets Smarter With Tasks

OpenAI has launched a new beta feature called Tasks, letting ChatGPT handle reminders and scheduled actions.

The feature is aimed at making ChatGPT a smarter, more proactive digital assistant, much like Siri or Google Assistant, but with more advanced conversational skills.

Here’s what you can do with Tasks:

• Schedule daily updates (like weather reports), recurring reminders (passport renewals, meetings), or even lighthearted prompts (bedtime jokes, anyone?).

• Use the “4.0 with scheduled tasks” option in the model picker to set a task, typing what you need and when you need it.

• Manage, edit, or cancel tasks either in a chat or through a dedicated Tasks section on the web.

A few catches:

The feature is currently exclusive to paying subscribers (Plus, Team, and Pro plans) and limited to 10 active tasks at a time.

While useful, it’s still in beta, meaning bugs and occasional unreliability may pop up… so don’t set it to remind you about something life-altering just yet.

OpenAI isn’t stopping here. It’s also working on tools like Operator, which could let ChatGPT control computers, and Caterpillar, aimed at enhancing problem-solving and info-gathering capabilities.

Set it and forget it:

Notifications are sent when tasks are completed, making this more than just a chatbot, it may switch things up for how we interact with AI.

My Take:

This isn’t just a “nice-to-have” update. It’s a sign of where OpenAI is heading.

By moving ChatGPT into the realm of proactive assistance, OpenAI is taking aim at established players like Siri and Google Assistant.

For creators, this could mean offloading repetitive tasks and focusing on what really matters… your work, your audience, and your creative flow.

That said, it’s not all sunshine and scheduled reminders.

The limited access (paid only), beta quirks, and cap on task volume make it more of a preview than a fully-fledged tool.

But the writing’s on the wall: ChatGPT is evolving from a reactive tool into an active partner in productivity.

And hey, while Siri may still stumble over your question about the nearest coffee shop, ChatGPT is quietly becoming the assistant that not only understands but remembers what you want… and delivers it with a side of charm.

BYTE-SIZED BUZZ

Here’s a quick roundup of what’s making waves in the AI world this week.

Humanpods—AI-Powered Earbuds 🎧
CES 2025 saw the debut of Humanpods, minimalist earbuds powered by personalized AI assistants like Athena (fitness guru), Hector (therapist), and Nature (general assistant). These sleek devices aim to reduce smartphone reliance while keeping users connected.

The Big Deal: A hands-free future is here. If Humanpods deliver on their promise of convenience and privacy, this could redefine how we interact with AI daily.

Meta Faces Copyright Battles ⚖️
Meta’s use of a dataset allegedly containing pirated books has landed the company in legal hot water. Authors claim their works were used without consent to train Meta’s AI models.

The Big Deal: This case spotlights the ethical gray areas of AI training data. How companies address these challenges will shape the future of creative industries.

Microsoft Expands Copilot Access 💼
Microsoft introduces a free tier for 365 Copilot Chat, offering AI-powered task automation with pay-per-use pricing. This move positions Microsoft to compete with Google’s free AI offerings in workplace tools.

The Big Deal: By lowering the entry barrier, Microsoft might just become the go-to AI platform for businesses needing scalable solutions without breaking the bank.

AI Tutoring Transforming Education 📚
A study in Nigeria revealed that students using AI tutors made learning gains equivalent to two years of traditional education in just six weeks. This groundbreaking pilot focused on English literacy and digital skills.

The Big Deal: AI tutoring isn’t just a classroom tool—it’s a game-changer for regions facing teacher shortages and widening education gaps.

SUGGESTION BOX