Apple is negotiating with news publishers to license their content for use in an upgraded, AI-powered version of its Siri assistant.

The company has approached publishers in recent months over potential agreements that would give Siri access to current news and other information, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The report stated that Apple is considering a variable compensation model under which publishers would be paid when their content is used, rather than receiving a fixed licensing fee.

The proposed approach differs from the standard practice in the AI industry, where companies typically pay publishers guaranteed fees for broad access to their content.

Apple is also considering a budget running into nine figures for the payments, according to the report.

The tech giant did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

The discussions come as Apple works to significantly upgrade Siri after years of promises to make its voice assistant smarter and more capable through artificial intelligence.

The AI-powered version of Siri is expected to roll out later this year.