AI isn't the threat anymore. Avoiding it is.

"The workflows we've relied on for decades aren't fast enough, efficient enough or scalable enough to compete with what AI is already doing, which is uncomfortable for us to say aloud: It's far smarter than we thought it would be at this stage. It's quick, often witty and sometimes insightful. It still can't fully replace reporting and it still makes factual mistakes - but that's not the point."

"They will begin expecting more reporters to use it for story structure, framing, and sentence construction. Some will even use AI to generate early reporting questions or identify new angles. Imagine a local reporter walking into a city council meeting with a list - produced with AI - of context, conflicts, and follow-up questions for lawmakers. Or an editor using AI to reframe a muddled draft into a coherent structure."

"The industry is already using AI to sharpen headlines, spot SEO trends, moderate commenting, and draft news quizzes. Next year, the shift will accelerate: reporters and editors won't just be allowed to toy with AI - they'll be expected to rely on it to enhance reporting and editing. By the end of 2026, we will see at least one major newsroom openly experimenting with AI-assisted reporting and editing workflows."

AI is already used to sharpen headlines, spot SEO trends, moderate commenting, and draft news quizzes, and its role will accelerate. Reporters and editors are expected to rely on AI for story structure, framing, sentence construction, early reporting questions, and angle identification. AI is faster, often witty, sometimes insightful, and already good enough for the average reader despite factual mistakes and limits in replacing reporting. Newsroom leaders will expect broader AI adoption across data projects, audience initiatives, and reporting workflows. Strong, transparent systems and practices around AI must be established to protect public-information structures essential to democracy.

Read at Nieman Lab