The Reuters Institute’s 2026 report indicates that only 20% of publishers expect licensing revenues from AI companies to be substantial, with half (49%) anticipating a minor contribution.

However, with already evident implications of zero-click searches and further adoption of AI chatbots, we cannot accept that licensing deals will provide only marginal relief given the existing revenue pressures our industry faces.

Your participation will directly inform the decision-making framework we are developing for PPA member businesses.

Survey objectives

Validate deal conditions for long-term sustainability

Early data from major publishers reveals concerning patterns. While the average licensing deal is sizeable (estimated at £20 – £25m) we need comprehensive data to determine whether these agreements adequately protect publishers’ future revenues or merely provide short-term relief while underlying traffic and revenue losses accelerate.

The PPA will not collect or request individual deal values or commercially sensitive terms. Any aggregated insights will derive solely from anonymised, non‑identifiable responses.

Assess comparative impact on publishers who have entered deals

We seek to understand whether publishers with licensing agreements are experiencing more or less audience migration to LLM interfaces compared to those without deals. This will help validate whether licensing partnerships offer protection against traffic displacement.

Build evidence-based industry advocacy

With limited transparency around existing deals, we need aggregated, anonymised data to strengthen our collective negotiating position and inform policy discussions.

Your confidentiality is assured

The survey focuses on high‑level, non‑commercial impacts rather than specific deal terms. We will not request or disseminate any information related to pricing, individual licensing negotiations, or future commercial strategies. All data will be anonymised and aggregated strictly for research and policy purposes.

We anticipate the survey will take approximately 8 minutes to complete. Please respond by 24/02/26.

Thank you for contributing to this essential industry research.