主题:When Search Starts with Generative AI: Content Licensing and Publisher Quality

题目：当搜索以生成式人工智能开启：内容授权与出版商质量

Time:April, 17th, 2026 (Friday), 10:00 am

Place:管理科研楼第一教室

Speaker: Peiwen Yu

Bio：

郁培文，重庆大学经管学院副院长、教授。主要研究兴趣为供应链管理、数字经济与人工智能。研究成果发表于Management Science、Operations Research、《管理世界》等期刊。主持国家自然科学基金项目青年基金A类项目。

照片：

Abstract:

Generative AI is increasingly a first stop for information seeking. Acting as an answer engine, it delivers synthesized, self-contained responses that may incorporate publisher content through licensing agreements. These agreements are often viewed as win-win because AI platforms gain high-quality inputs and publishers receive compensation. However, this view overlooks a key structural feature: licensing makes AI answers derivative of publisher content within a sequential search process. As publisher quality improves, AI answers become more effective at satisfying consumers early, which cannibalizes direct engagement with publishers and may shrink the value created by licensing. As a result, even with licensing in place, AI can weaken publishers' incentives to invest in quality, despite always leaving them better off. Consumer welfare can also decline, even though AI expands the choice set with a more efficient option. Our analysis suggests that preserving publishers' quality incentives requires more than compensation through licensing; it also hinges on giving publishers control over how their content is incorporated into generative AI.