ChatGPT Is replacing morning media, but where are the creators?

Every morning, more people are skipping traditional newsletters and podcasts in favor of something faster and smarter: personalized briefings from ChatGPT. From global news and market updates to curated social media threads, AI now delivers tailored content instantly, shaped entirely by user prompts.

A shift from assistant to platform

What began as a helpful tool is quickly becoming a full-fledged media platform. With just a few custom instructions or API tweaks, ChatGPT can generate content that rivals premium subscription services – without a newsroom, editorial team, or publishing schedule. It’s media on demand, tailored to individual needs.

OpenAI’s Custom GPTs and plug-in ecosystem already point to this evolution. What’s still missing is a true infrastructure for creative participation, discovery, and collaboration.

Monetization is the missing piece

Despite this leap in utility, one crucial element is absent: monetization. While ChatGPT transforms content consumption, it offers no path for creators to participate, let alone benefit. Unlike YouTube, TikTok, or Substack, platforms that thrive by rewarding creators with visibility, engagement, and income, ChatGPT lacks the mechanisms that make creative ecosystems sustainable.

To move forward, OpenAI could explore revenue-sharing models for Custom GPTs, where creators earn based on usage or subscriptions. Prompt authors, briefing curators, and educational content designers should have opportunities to monetize their expertise, perhaps through microtransactions, licensing, or tiered content access.

No ecosystem for creators

There’s no discovery layer that highlights creators. No attribution that connects users back to the original sources of information. No financial model that compensates those whose work fuels the AI’s responses. As a result, creators are excluded from the very system that depends on their content to function.

To solve this, OpenAI should consider:

• Attribution frameworks: Credit original sources and creators, enabling transparency, recognition, and potential compensation.
• Creator profiles connected to Custom GPTs:Allow users to...