Qwant experiments with Mistral AI technology and a revenue sharing model at 50% with publishers to prove that an ethical and sovereign AI is possible.
A “Flash Response” model based on transparency
The experiment, which began in January for a duration of nine months, introduces the “Flash Response” feature at the top of search results. Unlike Google’s “AI Overviews,” often criticized for their opacity, Qwant’s service relies on a direct partnership with about twenty major press groups, including Ouest France, Le Figaro, and Les Échos. The technical objective is twofold: to validate the syntheses produced by AI by limiting them to verified press sources and to offer publishers the option to integrate this module directly on their platforms to enhance the reader experience.
“For the first time, publishers will have transparency on the use of their content in AI responses. This is the condition for laying the groundwork for fair compensation,” said Marc Feuillée, president of the Alliance de la presse d’information générale, as reported by AFP. However, the results are still improvable at this point. A simple test on singer Herbert Léonard shows that the date of his death mentioned in Qwant’s Flash Response is incorrect, with the correct date being that specified in the Wikipedia article displayed just below.
Sovereign technology: the Qwant-Mistral duo under the Synfonium umbrella
This experiment also serves to enhance the attractiveness of a 100% European technological stack. The search engine, owned by Synfonium (a company of Octave Klaba, founder of OVHcloud), uses the language models of the French gem Mistral AI. Furthermore, Qwant ensures that with this technology, it offers a more contextual search without the advertising bias of traditional search engines. The equal revenue sharing (50/50) between the search engine and content creators is meant to ensure the sustainability of quality information, essential for strategic monitoring in companies.
“We are trying to build a model that is constructive for the ecosystem,” said Olivier Averbuch, CEO of Qwant, in an interview with AFP. In other words, by directly financing local and national press through their requests, companies could support a sustainable information ecosystem.
This initiative comes at a time of global tension between Tech giants and the media, illustrated by multiple disputes over neighboring rights.
