Zendy is proud to announce a pioneering revenue-sharing model tailored for AI-generated content. The initiative ensures that publishers receive a fair compensation when their paywalled research is cited by Zendy’s AI-powered research assistant, ZAIA. For years major academic publishers have been cautious about AI companies using their research, this new model introduces a transparent and ethical approach.
"This is a positive shift for the academic publishing industry. For the first time, AI is being used to drive revenue back to publishers instead of bypassing them. Ethical AI also means giving credit—and compensation—where it’s due. In the long term, we believe even authors should share in this revenue."
ZAIA: Leveraging Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
Central to this initiative is ZAIA, Zendy’s domain-specific large language model (LLM). Utilising Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), ZAIA accesses a vast repository of both open access and licensed paywalled metadata. The transparent revenue-sharing model ensures fair compensation for publishers, determined by the number of references included in ZAIA’s responses.
This initiative has already garnered support from esteemed international publishers, including IT Governance, Lexxion, British Online Archives, and Lived Places Publishing. Furthermore, Zendy is actively exploring compensation models tailored for open access publishers, ensuring inclusivity across the board.
For researchers and academic institutions, ZAIA offers precise, contextually relevant content, streamlining the research process. By providing reference-backed responses, ZAIA ensures that users access high-quality, peer-reviewed materials, all while supporting the publishers responsible for this invaluable content.
