GEN AI IN THE NEWSROOM: LATEST TRENDS

Figuring out how to get the most from generative AI in a responsible way continues to dominate the newsroom agenda. Following a Trint study with 29 newsrooms from around the world we’ve summarized five trends below for you to keep an eye on as you move forward with GenAI.

Fill in the form and hear insights on these trends from three industry experts – Jeff Kofman, CEO & Founder of Trint, Tessa Kaday, Director of Product at Trint, and Marc Burleigh, veteran reporter and video journalist at Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Watch Trint’s webinar on latest Gen AI trends

READ THE FULL
2025 REPORT

NEWSROOMS STRIVE
FOR EVEN MORE EFFICIENCY

Newsrooms see AI for what it's already doing - but simply expect it to work even faster, better and cheaper. Intriguingly, GenAI adoption won’t be to serve audiences more effectively or make money - the focus is supporting the bottom line; not the top line.

GEN AI IS FOR THE MENIAL;
NOT THE CREATIVE

Newsrooms are adopting GenAI to take care of the more so-called ‘tedious’ jobs - like transcription and translation, information gathering or making sense of large volumes of data.

Risks around inaccuracies and unoriginality mean newsrooms will not use GenAI for creative work. Content writing, video production and imagery will remain firmly in the hands of humans.

IT’S TIME TO TALK  ABOUT SHADOW AI

Shadow AI is not seen as a concern but a deeper inspection reveals that employees are routinely using their own AI tools. The sense is that newsrooms don’t recognize the potential for shadow AI to lead to costly security, privacy and regulatory incidents.

Newsroom management will need to work with their IT peers and vendors to mitigate their employees’ preference for their own tools.

PEOPLE AND POLICIES
WILL KEEP GEN AI SAFE

Newsrooms will bet big on employee education and company-wide policies to promote responsible AI, while keeping a human in the loop for verification purposes will also be a key.

The question is whether newsrooms can do more to hold vendors to account in order to mitigate risks right off the bat.

BUILD FOR CONTROL; BUY FOR EXPERTISE

Our study uncovered a 50/50 split across respondents when it comes to building vs. buying Gen AI capabilities. The appropriate approach clearly depends on your context.

Builders overwhelmingly point to better control and customization benefits, while buyers seek vendor expertise - highlighting their own lack of in-house technical resources to maintain the upkeep.