News industry braces for AI-driven change
The significant reliance on Artificial Intelligence (AI) is affecting consumers’ reading and viewing habits. Rather than searching for information via search engines, there is a growing trend of people “prompting” for information directly through their personal AI platforms.
Senior Research Associate at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Nic Newman, said that based on the survey, 43 percent of respondents feel they could lose about half of their traffic over the next three years. He also noted that frequent changes to Google’s algorithm have contributed to a global decline in Google search traffic of 33 percent last year. Social media referrals have also declined significantly in recent years, although they have now somewhat stabilized.
According to Newman, substantial growth can be seen in AI-driven “answer engines,” particularly chatbots such as ChatGPT, which has around 800 million users per week. While usage continues to grow, Google still delivers about 500 times more traffic than these AI platforms have so far.
The survey was participated in by 280 respondents from 51 countries and territories, comprising digital leaders within publishing organizations, including Editors-in-Chief, CEOs, Senior Editors, Digital Directors, Directors-General, Managing Editors, and others. Based on the survey, 38 percent of respondents are confident about the future of journalism, while the percentage of those who are not confident has increased to 18 percent, compared to 2022. These figures show that confidence in journalism continues to decline.
With the rise of AI-driven content creation, publishers are strategically shifting toward distinctive, human-centric journalism that focuses on authenticity and cannot be easily replicated by machine learning software. Newman stated that 76 percent of publishers are encouraging their journalists to think more like “creators” or “platform personalities” to better engage younger audiences. Some news organizations are even acting as talent agencies for key opinion leaders (KOLs).
According to the survey, publishers plan to lean more toward YouTube this year, as well as AI networks. While publishers remain cautious about consumer-facing AI, the integration of technology into backend operations aims to increase productivity and automate routine tasks such as transcription, tagging, and copy editing. Newman also noted that AI is being used as a powerful tool for news gathering, particularly when dealing with massive datasets and limited staff.
During the Q&A session, Newman said news should not become overly personalized, as that is already the role of social media feeds and AI platforms. He noted that audiences do not want personalized news agendas but want to discover things they do not already know.
However, he added that users do want a more personalized experience on news websites, such as not being shown stories they have already read. Newman said personalization should focus on format and user experience, where publishers understand what users know and guide them through content accordingly. AI, he said, can help enable this approach.
Newman also highlighted several key challenges and dilemmas currently faced by publishers, including:
- AI chatbots and search platforms making it harder for news publishers to reach audiences — how should they respond?
- Creators and influencers presenting a different kind of human challenge — what can news publishers learn from them?
- Publishers refocusing content strategies on distinctiveness while attempting to maintain reach through efficient, AI-driven processes, which have yet to significantly move the needle.
- The hype around AI reaching a fever pitch, with a likely correction or backlash ahead, though in the long-term publishers will need to learn how to manage the disruption AI will bring.
To know more about the survey, visit: Journalism and Technology Trends and Predictions 2026.
