Artificial intelligence is transforming the journalism and public relations industries, according to Francesco Marconi, an early AI newsroom pioneer. Marconi explains that communicators must structure content for AI systems that now read and rank information before humans.
Newsrooms are increasingly using large language models to streamline production, support reporting, and reshape how journalists work. Marconi, a computational journalist who founded AppliedXL, helped major news outlets integrate AI into their editorial processes.
Recent global surveys show that a strong majority of news organizations have already experimented with generative AI tools for tasks such as transcription, summarization, data handling, and drafting. About 73% of those news organizations said AI platforms present new opportunities in the journalism industry.
Marconi notes that AI is not only being used as a tool in newsrooms but also reading content and deciding what gets surfaced online. Humans are often second in line when it comes to reading online content like press releases.
Marconi advises communicators to structure content with the most helpful information at the top, as AI systems are the primary audience.
Marconi’s company works heavily with public data and signal detection, and he has written books on AI in journalism. His clients include Bloomberg, Dow Jones, and the Washington Post Intelligence.
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Marconi believes that journalists, PR professionals, and communicators will need data literacy, domain depth, and an understanding of which kind of journalism they are in to succeed in an AI-driven industry. There are two types of journalism: utility journalism, which informs decisions, and community journalism, which focuses on storytelling and identity.
As AI systems increasingly scan press releases, filings, and online content before humans do, communicators must adapt by structuring content with precision and clarity. Marconi advises putting the most important signal at the top and using structured claims and ontologies to help AI systems understand the context of the information.
Marconi also notes that the “signal before the story” may become more valuable than the story itself, as AI-generated content increases and the supply of verifiable information decreases. Companies that can provide accurate and reliable information will have a significant advantage.
However, Marconi acknowledges that the current state of AI in journalism is still evolving, and that there are challenges to be addressed, such as the need for more transparency and accountability in AI decision-making. The industry continues to shift, and new opportunities and challenges will emerge, and communicators will need to stay adaptable to keep up.
They will need to stay ahead of the curve to succeed in this new setting, where medical kidnapping and other crises can be anticipated and reported on more effectively with AI.
