I still remember sitting in my journalism class in 2003, learning how to chase leads, ask the right questions, and tell stories that matter.

Fast-forward twenty years, and I’m working in digital publishing, where content is built on platforms, powered by data, and increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. But one thing hasn’t changed: stories still need a human at the center.

That’s why attending Web Summit Rio felt like a full-circle moment. I saw how far technology has come, and how much responsibility we have as publishers to guide where it’s going next. One of the strongest takeaways? Artificial Intelligence is accelerating fast, and publishers have a huge opportunity (and responsibility) to understand how it will reshape the future of content.

In this post, I’ll share what I learned from thought leaders like Patricia Florissi (Google Cloud), Jack Nicas (The New York Times), and Laura Bonilla (AFP), and what their insights mean for digital publishers.

AI is learning to understand the world like we do

Patrícia Florissi (Google Cloud), shared how we are moving from reactive AI (which simply answers prompts) to agentic AI, which reasons, plans, and acts. One key enabler of this leap? Embeddings.

Think of embeddings like coordinates in a GPS,  but instead of pointing to locations, they point to meaning. These data-rich vectors allow AI to semantically “map” concepts across text, images, audio, and even video, into a shared, unified space. This is what powers models like Gemini from Google.

Why does this matter for publishing?

1. Multimodal AI enables interconnected media experiences
   Publishers can manage not just articles or images, but unified, multi-format storytelling blending text, video, audio, and graphics. 
   
2. Smarter search capabilities are coming 
   With context-aware recommendations and semantic embeddings, AI will transform how teams discover, structure, and interact with content. 

With models like Gemini 2.5 Pro now accessible to researchers, we’ll see faster integration of these capabilities into mainstream publishing tools.

Florissi believes this is only the beginning. She called 2025 “the year of reasoning,” where AI will gain more capacity to plan, infer, and act, not just assist. Agentic systems won’t simply support publishing workflows; they’ll collaborate in shaping them.

Journalism still matters. Now more than ever.

With AI-generated content rising fast, there’s an understandable concern. Will readers still pay for quality journalism?

According to Jack Nicas (The New York Times), Cristiane Souza Cruz (Globo), and Laura Bonilla (AFP), the answer is yes,  if we do it right. Nicas stressed that journalism must remain transparent, showing its methods and building trust every day.

While AI can streamline newsroom tasks and assist in idea generation, reporting and supervision must remain human-led. In fact, AI can free up time for journalists to do more of what journalists love: being on the ground, meeting people, verifying facts, and telling human stories. As Bonilla pointed out, journalists build trust with sources, witness events firsthand, and craft stories from experience — things no algorithm can replicate.

But deeper challenges lie ahead:

• In the era of zero-click searches, news sources are often left out of the conversation even when their content is the foundation.
• AI models can be trained on news content without authorization, putting journalistic intellectual property at risk.

How can we overcome those challenges?

The New York Times lawsuit against OpenAI and The Associated Press partnership with ChatGPT may define the path forward. These milestones could shape how AI and journalism can (and must) collaborate.

A new voice in reporting

To compete in the AI era, Nicas suggests journalists also evolve their style:

• More conversational writing
• Greater use of graphics and video (1 in 3 homepage users watch videos)
• Even using the first-person voice when transparency demands it

This humanization of journalism could become a competitive edge in a world flooded with synthetic content.

 What publishers can do now

1. Explore multimodal models: WordPress integrations with AI models can help unify how your team works with text, media, and data.
2. Invest in semantic search: Use embedding-based search to improve content discovery.
3. Audit content IP use: As generative models evolve, clarify how your content is being accessed, and look for partnership opportunities.
4. Double down on human insight: Use AI to assist, not replace, your editorial process. What can be automated should free up time for deeper storytelling.

Final thoughts

AI isn’t replacing publishing, it’s challenging us to elevate it. As technology becomes better at understanding the world, it’s our job to shape how that understanding is used.

At XWP, we believe in building technology that respects creativity, empowers teams, and serves the greater purpose of meaningful communication. Because in the end, it’s not about what AI can do, it’s about what we choose to do with it.