The report presents a thorough snapshot of how publishers and broadcasters are integrating AI in 2025, with encouraging signs of increased adoption (97% plan to increase budgets, primarily for editorial tasks) and clear enthusiasm for workflow automation. However, while the headline is about going “beyond workflow automation,” most findings reveal that newsrooms are still anchored in the early stages of AI adoption—leaning on productivity tools rather than strategic transformation.
What’s Strongly Represented
Workflow automation dominates: 94% of publishers use AI for workflow efficiency, automating repetitive tasks like scheduling, tagging, transcription, and translation.
Consumer-facing innovation exists, but it’s shallow: Tools like personalized content delivery and automated accessibility are being deployed, but most are extensions of efficiency rather than new storytelling paradigms.
Investment is up: 97% of organizations are increasing AI budgets, and R&D and infrastructure lead the resource allocation list (93% and 89%).
What’s Underrepresented — The Blind Spots
Despite optimism, several crucial areas for the future of journalism remain underdeveloped or almost absent:
1. AI in Core Editorial Judgment and Investigative Work
Only 1% of publishers have fully scaled AI across functions, and 65% are stuck at routine task automation.
Tasks like fact-checking and verification (4%) and source vetting (3%) barely register, despite misinformation being the top concern (90%).
This signals a gap between ambition and implementation: AI is not yet trusted to support high-stakes editorial processes like deep verification, investigative reporting, or nuanced analysis.
2. Audience Growth and Revenue Strategy
Just 12% are using AI to build revenue and growth strategies, and 2% for hyper-personalized paywalls.
Most usage is reactive—optimizing existing workflows—rather than proactive in audience development, dynamic monetization, and product innovation, which could help struggling newsrooms survive.
3. Training and Upskilling Journalists
Only 6% of resources go to staff training, and 19% of teams dedicate extra time to upskilling.
This is a major underinvestment given how transformative AI is to editorial roles. Without equipping journalists to leverage AI beyond simple automation, the industry risks widening the skills gap.
4. Amplifying Underrepresented Voices and Diversity
Only 18% dedicate time to amplifying underrepresented voices, and 5% focus on niche coverage areas—a glaring omission given AI’s potential for inclusive journalism through better audience analysis and local community insights.
5. Real-Time Analytics and Predictive Insights
Real-time monitoring for actionable insights is used by just 7%, and many respondents report dissatisfaction with real-time data tools (73%).
AI’s ability to predict emerging trends and inform editorial priorities remains underutilized, despite being critical for competitive differentiation.
6. New Storytelling Formats
AR/VR, interactive visualizations, and immersive storytelling rank extremely low in adoption (below 10%).
While video and image optimization is popular (87%), publishers are not leveraging AI to redefine the user experience or create next-generation engagement formats.
7. Ethical AI and Governance
Despite ethical AI ranking as a top future priority (90%), only 8% of resources go to governance today.
There’s a mismatch between concern about misinformation and bias (top barrier) and the actual investment in systems to mitigate these risks.
Bottom Line
The report shows a newsroom AI strategy that is pragmatic but narrow: optimize today, worry about tomorrow later. While workflow efficiency is well-served, editorial integrity, revenue innovation, and audience inclusivity remain AI’s missing frontiers. To truly “frame the impact of AI beyond workflow automation,” publishers need:
Invest in ethical, explainable AI for fact-checking, source verification, and bias reduction.
Shift from cost-saving to revenue-driving use cases, like dynamic pricing and product innovation.
Upskill journalists, ensuring they lead AI adoption rather than follow tech providers.
Explore storytelling reinvention, moving beyond static formats toward interactive and immersive journalism.