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…
Millennials consume content very differently to the way previous generations did. We grab five minutes with vjoon’s David Rheault, to get his thoughts on what publishers should be doing to meet changing consumer expectations.
James Evelegh’s roundup of some of the news stories that caught his eye over the last couple of months.
When looking for new inspiration for your own digital transformation journey, it pays to cast the net as wide as possible, looking outside your own industry and beyond your own borders. Carolyn Morgan moderated a number of sessions at the Digital Inn
Bloomberg Media Group yesterday announced a three-year extension to a global partnership with Hyundai Motor Company with the launch of a new digital video series, ART + TECHNOLOGY.
Technology is changing everything in the publishing sphere, including the selling of advertising. We grab five minutes with Simon Weare, head of development at PCS, to find out more.
Articulating a noble mission statement and having a clearly defined direction of travel, helps motivate your teams and … drive commercial success. New BMJ CEO Peter Ashman talks Meg Carter through his first year in charge.
On Tuesday, Carolyn Morgan presented one of our Top Tips Webinars, entitled ‘Navigating the Future of B2B Media: 10 Practical Strategies’. In this article, Carolyn answers some of the questions posed by attendees.
James Evelegh’s roundup of some of the news stories that caught his eye since November/December issue of InPublishing magazine.
VR is one of those technologies that keeps appearing on next-big-thing lists, yet, as Francesca Panetta tells Ciar Byrne, the tech is still in its infancy. By investing in VR now, the Guardian is making sure it’ll be a long way along the learning cur
Digital technology has already transformed and disrupted media and publishing, as it has most parts of the global economy. So, asks Carolyn Morgan, what emerging trends should media businesses be monitoring, that will change how people consume conten
James Evelegh's comment piece from the January / February 2018 issue of InPublishing magazine.
Stylist magazine this week publishes its 400th issue, a special collectors’ edition entitled The Robot Takeover.
Looking back on 2017 and forward to the year ahead, we grab five minutes with Andreas Schrader, CEO of content management specialists, vjoon.
Archant has received a grant worth €676,000 from Google’s Digital News Initiative.
James Evelegh's comment piece from the November / December 2017 issue of InPublishing magazine.
