By the time you read this, AI has already written, edited, translated, and optimised a dozen other stories—perhaps even one about this very article. What once seemed like a newsroom experiment is now an operational necessity. From crunching financial data to tailoring editorial slants, AI has infiltrated every layer of journalism, reshaping how news is gathered, produced, and consumed. But as newsrooms embrace this technological leap, they also grapple with fundamental questions: Can AI preserve the trust and integrity of journalism? Who profits when algorithms write the news? And will human journalists remain essential—or just optional?
A five-year leap: AI’s takeover of newsrooms
In just half a decade, AI has gone from a novelty to a necessity in journalism. A 2023 McKinsey survey found that 75% of organisations globally now use AI in at least one business function, and journalism is riding this wave. The JournalismAI project, led by the London School of Economics, reports that by 2024, a staggering 90% of surveyed newsrooms were integrating AI into news production workflows—up from just 40% in 2019. This surge reflects AI’s ability to tackle everything from data analysis to content delivery. “AI has proliferated across News Gathering, News Production, News Distribution, and Audience engagement. It’s contributing to various tasks—from analysing complex financial data to producing articles with a specific editorial tilt to auto-translating into multiple languages to customising article summaries as per reader interests,” Raghav Anand, Partner at EY, told BrandWagon Online. Yet, adoption isn’t uniform.
How audiences are eating it up
Are readers embracing AI-generated content? The numbers say yes. A 2024 Microsoft survey revealed that 65% of Indians have used generative AI tools, dwarfing the global average of 31%. Engagement metrics tell an even juicier story. Speaking from an industry standpoint, media organizations in India are gradually adopting artificial intelligence technologies to enhance journalism in several areas, including the application of natural language processing tools for transcribing interviews or even summarizing speech, thus improving the entire newsgathering and production workflow. Indeed, applications powered by artificial intelligence do offer pretty good assistance with generating draft articles,” Deepit Purkayastha, Co-founder and CEO of Inshorts, shared.
But there’s a catch. “If search engines deprioritise AI-generated content, traffic could drop. AI tools provide direct answers without sending users to original sources. If content creators don’t get traffic, they lose revenue,” Sanjay Sindhwani, CEO of The Indian Express Digital, warned. A 2023 Reuters Institute report echoes this, noting that 60% of publishers worry about declining search-driven ad revenue as AI chatbots like ChatGPT answer queries directly.
The money game: Savings, growth, and risks
Financially, AI is a double-edged sword. On the upside, it’s a cost-saver extraordinaire. “The majority of AI’s impact is on efficiency and automation of backend tasks,” said Anand. “By streamlining workflows, AI reduces operational costs and enables faster content creation, positively impacting ad revenues, subscriptions, and paid content models. AI-driven personalisation enhances audience engagement, increasing subscription retention and user willingness to pay for premium content,”Purkayastha added. A 2024 PwC study estimates that AI-driven automation could save media companies up to 30% on operational costs by 2026.
Yet, over-reliance carries risks. “While AI enhances factual efficiency, human oversight remains crucial for ethical standards, unbiasedness, and credibility. Misinformation risks underline the need for responsible integration,” Purkayastha cautioned.
Sindhwani framed AI as a productivity booster, not a cost-cutter: “It’s like moving from typewriters to Word documents. It allows journalists to focus on higher-value tasks.” But he’s sceptical about revenue stability: “If search volumes drop as AI answers queries directly, evergreen content could take a hit, shrinking ad dollars.”
Guarding the gates!
AI’s rise hasn’t gone unchecked. Ethical concerns—misinformation, transparency, accountability—are mounting. UNESCO’s Global AI Ethics and Governance Observatory tracks these challenges, while the EU’s Energy Efficiency Directive nudges tech firms to report AI’s environmental footprint. In newsrooms, self-regulation is taking root.
Still, regulation lags. A 2024 World Economic Forum report warns that only 20% of countries have comprehensive AI governance frameworks, leaving journalism vulnerable to misuse. Misinformation, amplified by AI’s speed, remains a top concern—especially after incidents like the 2023 AI-generated fake news scandal that briefly tanked a major stock index.
AI as Journalist-in-Chief?
What’s next? “By 2030, AI will influence all parts of journalism, evolving it into a live conversational and perspective-sharing experience,”Anand predicted a seismic shift. A 2024 Deloitte forecast aligns, projecting that AI will handle 50% of news production tasks by 2035. Media companies are gearing up—some by building bespoke tools, most by tweaking off-the-shelf AI. “Publications use AI for summarisation and metadata generation, but it still needs human validation,” said Sindhwani.
The tech toolbox
AI’s toolkit is vast and growing. Purkayastha details its applications:
News Gathering: NLP transcribes interviews and summarises speeches, slashing prep time.
Content Creation: AI drafts articles, freeing journalists for deeper reporting.
Fact-Checking: Real-time AI queries boost accuracy and speed.
Audience Engagement: Algorithms personalise content, lifting retention.
A 2024 Nieman Lab study found AI tools cut production times by 40%, letting journalists churn out more stories, faster.
The bottom line
AI’s five-year sprint through journalism has been a game-changer—boosting efficiency, captivating audiences, and trimming costs. Yet, it’s not a free lunch. Ethical pitfalls, revenue uncertainties, and the need for human guardrails loom large. As Anand puts it, “AI will enhance journalists’ ability to reach wider audiences with lower costs.” But success hinges on balance—leveraging AI’s power while safeguarding journalism’s heart: courage, trust and truth. The next decade will test whether newsrooms can ride this wave or get swallowed by it. For now, one thing’s clear: AI isn’t just assisting—it’s rewriting the story of journalism itself.