Looking toward 2026, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism asked leading media experts how AI will reshape the way news is found, verified, produced, and financed, and what that shift will mean for public trust.
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As the influence of generative AI expands in 2026, The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism asked 17 leading experts in the field and their audience to predict how AI will reshape the news in 2026.
Five overarching themes surfaced in the experts’ responses:
AI systems are becoming a primary gateway to news: Among other experts, Semafor’s Gina Chua wrote that people will increasingly turn to chatbots and large language models for information, even as concerns about errors persist, while visits to traditional news websites continue to decline. In addition, Alessandro Alviani of Süddeutsche Zeitung Digitale Medien and Scroll’s Sannuta Raghu mentioned that the format of news will also change to better cater to the audience’s needs.
An increased need for verification: In an era of AI-generated deepfakes and low trust, newsrooms will have to start using tools to verify their visual content, like C2PA, wrote Nikkei’s Joshua Ogawa. Shorenstein Fellow at Harvard University Shuwei Fang saw an opportunity for news organizations to create a new product, helping audiences verify what is actually real.
The rise of “agentic AI”: In 2026, newsrooms will move beyond simple task automation as agentic AI will be utilized to automate complex workflows, including investigations and interviewing, according to consultant David Caswell.
New infrastructure and monetization opportunities for newsrooms: Media organizations will increasingly use AI for distribution and monetization purposes, noted Katharina Schell from Austria Presse Agentur, and could help news organizations generate revenue through the creation of personalized products, according to INMA’s Sonali Verma. AI will also help newsrooms save time by acting as a “digital intern,” helping newsrooms automate repetitive administrative tasks, wrote Tshepo Tshabalala from JournalismAI. Similarly, media consultant Sebastián Auyanet Torres predicted that “vibe-coding” will become increasingly common, giving journalists the time to focus on face-to-face community connection.
AI gives data journalism a boost: AI will allow reporters to find scoops through analyzing vast data sets from external sources instead of relying only on their own archives, said Financial Times’ Martin Stabe. Regular citizens can also use AI chatbots to understand and investigate public datasets, according to journalist and media advisor Jaemark Tordecilla.
