Key Takeaways

1. The Rise of ChatGPT:

   • Launched in November 2022
   • Reached 1 million users in 5 days, 100 million in 2 months
   • Seen as a threat to Google, content creators, and even other LLMs

2. Impact on News Industry:

   • AI-generated content is increasing in Google's top 10 SERPs
   • 'Human' news is still seen as premium
   • Gen-Z is more accepting of AI-generated content if disclosed
   • Half of news publishers expect little revenue from AI licensing deals

3. News Industry Reaction to AI:

   • Mixed approach to licensing deals and lawsuits
   • 53% of news sites block OpenAI's crawler
   • 89% of top-ranking Google News content blocks ChatGPT

4. AI in Journalism:

   • AI content production isn't new (e.g., Press Association's RADAR)
   • AI Overviews are less likely to be used for hard news
   • AI voice cloning expected to increase by 26% by 2030

5. Opportunities for Adaptation:

   • Focus on data journalism
   • Leverage social channels alongside websites and apps
   • Explore AI voice cloning for reading articles

6. Strategies for Evolution:

   • Prioritize quality journalism with a focus on accuracy and facts
   • Ensure investigative content remains human-driven
   • Deploy broad news aggregation across various platforms
   • Invest in podcasts and be open to AI voice innovations
   • Utilize segmented email marketing
   • Recognize the decline in social media referral traffic

Action Items

1. Implement Authenticity Measures:

   • Develop systems to verify and showcase the authenticity of human-created content
   • Consider implementing QR codes or similar tech for trust signals

2. Enhance Investigative Journalism:

   • Invest in human-driven investigative reporting to differentiate from AI-generated content
   • Focus on storytelling and surprising elements that AI might struggle to replicate

3. Expand News Aggregation:

   • Develop strategies for broad news aggregation across various platforms (Google, Yahoo, Bing, Apple News, etc.)
   • Test and refine aggregation approaches regularly

4. Develop Podcast Strategy:

   • Build or expand podcast offerings
   • Explore AI voice cloning technologies for potential implementation

5. Optimize Email Marketing:

   • Develop segmented, audience-led email marketing campaigns
   • Use AI to personalize content while maintaining human oversight

6. Reassess Social Media Strategy:

   • Recognize the declining trend of clicks from social media to news sites
   • Develop strategies to engage audiences directly on social platforms

7. AI Content Policy:

   • Decide on a clear policy regarding AI-generated content (creation, usage, disclosure)
   • Regularly review and update crawler blocking policies

8. Data Journalism Focus:

   • Invest in tools and training for data journalism
   • Use AI to assist in data analysis while maintaining human interpretation and storytelling

9. Voice and Audio Content:

   • Experiment with AI voice cloning for reading text articles
   • Develop a strategy for creating more audio content

10. Authenticity Verification:

    • Implement or improve fact-checking and verification processes (e.g., BBC Verify)
    • Consider developing a system to showcase the provenance of reporting

Remember: The key is to embrace AI as a tool to enhance human journalism, not replace it. Focus on what humans do best – investigative reporting, storytelling, and providing context and analysis.

For more information:

• LinkedIn: /in/duncancolman
• Twitter: @duncseo