A couple of years ago, the AI question for most publishers was whether to experiment. That has been settled. AI is now at work in newsrooms, archives, ad sales and production, and the harder conversation is about what it is doing to the business around it.
Search is the pressure point. Answer engines summarise journalism without sending the reader on, and referral traffic is falling as a result. Publishers are split between signing licensing deals and blocking crawlers, with more of them now looking to negotiate collectively. Before any contract is signed, it is worth knowing which of your content is genuinely hard to replace and exactly what rights are being sold.
AI might be able to knock out something quickly, but speed isn’t the same as value and fluency isn’t the same as truth.
Toby Wiseman AI in practice: Hearst UK
Inside the business the picture is brighter. Regional groups use AI-assisted reporting for routine local stories, which frees other reporters to get out of the office. B2B publishers have turned deep archives into search tools that answer readers' questions, and at least one has sold subscriptions off the back of it.
Whether the human checks survive cost pressure is the open question. So far, the industry's bet is that original, specialist journalism and a direct relationship with readers will hold their value however the technology moves.
Below you'll find some of our best feature articles on AI in publishing, from licensing strategy and search to newsroom case studies and editorial policy, alongside our latest news and industry commentary.
Before rushing in to make deals with AI companies, publishers need to properly evaluate the value of their content, says Sajeeda Merali, CEO of the Professional Publishers Association.
The biggest puzzle for publishers today is where to find audiences and how to keep them. How to meet this challenge was the focus of the latest AOP CRUNCH event, writes AOP’s Richard Reeves.
emap’s Nursing Times was quick to explore the potential of AI when it launched its LLM search service last year. Sixteen months on, Robin Booth tells us what they’ve achieved so far and how they plan to use AI next.
Newsquest has published over 10,000 articles with the aid of AI. Jody Doherty-Cove, head of editorial AI, tells us how and why Newsquest is deploying AI across its newsrooms.
Toby Wiseman, MD, content, tells us how Hearst UK is using AI now and where he sees the best opportunities for future development.
Most publishers are trialling AI tools to some degree, but how many are actually seeing quantifiable benefits from their efforts? Meg Carter talks to Ana Jakimovska, head of AI strategy at Mediahuis, about their approach to AI adoption.
Steve Pinches, chief product and technology officer at Which?, looks at the tech opportunities and challenges facing his company and the wider consumer publishing sector.
Peter Barr-Watson, chief technology officer at The Independent, looks at the tech opportunities and challenges facing his company and the wider news media sector.
Reuters Institute’s ‘Journalism, media, and technology trends and predictions 2026’ report shows how publishers are reacting to the twin threats from AI answer engines and human creators, writes Nic Newman.
Having humans involved in the process has been what’s given publishers the license to explore all that artificial intelligence has to offer…
As AI technologies become embedded in the workflows of media and publishing, they bring opportunities to enhance the efficiency and quality of content creation. They also bring a host of pressing governance issues, says Media Systems’ Paul Driscoll.
Elsevier has announced its continued support of The Pistoia Alliance in accelerating safe and responsible AI adoption in drug discovery.
Bright Sites has announced the launch of its Innovation Incubator, a new initiative dedicated to advancing innovation in journalism.
Journalism is the “lifeblood of democracy” and publishers should have control over and seek payment for their work as AI technology continues to transform our economy and way of life, Sir Keir Starmer has said today.
Business Insider and Indeed have announced their partnership on “The Better Work Project” to help workforce leaders and HR managers.
There has never been more news at our fingertips, and it’s never been harder to establish which of it is true. Richard Reeves, MD of AOP, reviews the recent AOP CRUNCH event which looked at the challenges publishers face.
Publishers have been experimenting with AI over the past couple of years. What progress have they made? We grab five minutes with Bright Sites’ Brian Alford to find out.
James Evelegh picks out some takeaways from the September / October issue of InPublishing magazine.
Elsevier Health has announced the commercial launch of Sherpath AI, an AI solution in nursing and healthcare education.
Two of the things conference attendees most want are actionable insights and networking opportunities, says Simone Broadhurst, group event director at emap.
Fashion site SheerLuxe launched in 2007 and has grown considerably since then, but growth did not come overnight. It’s been steady and organic.
New product development is crucial for driving the success of content, data, and media organisations. If your customers need actionable insights and evidence to support high-value decisions, you have a great opportunity...
Publishing’s mood on AI is changing, it seemed at the Future of Media Technology Conference in London in September, writes Dickon Ross.
Both publishers and advertisers are frustrated with their digital partners. It’s time for a reboot, says Jim Chisholm.
Jim Bilton analyses the responses to the latest mediashapers poll to find out. One thread running through the responses can be summed up as, ‘Terminator wars in Media World’. Jim explains…
