In a meeting last week at Ringier Media Switzerland, Ladina Heimgartner, the company’s CEO and president of WAN-IFRA, made a blunt observation: “The tools are here. The question isn’t whether AI will transform work—it’s how fast the people who refuse to use it will be left behind.” Her statement underscored a reality unfolding across media organizations: AI integration isn’t just a technological shift, but a human one. And the divide isn’t between early adopters and laggards—it’s between those who treat AI as a skill to cultivate and those who treat it as an optional add-on.
At Ringier, the rollout of Gemini Enterprise—a suite that connects documents, email, and calendars while generating summaries and research briefings in minutes—has revealed three distinct employee responses. Some staff members adopted the tool overnight, embedding it into workflows with minimal friction. Others, the “multipliers,” not only integrated AI into their own tasks but became informal evangelists, pulling colleagues into the transition. Then there are the resistors: those who attend AI strategy meetings with nodding approval, only to revert to manual methods when deadlines tighten. Heimgartner’s experience suggests that even hands-on demonstrations—like those using Google’s NotebookLM—can spark sudden conversion among this group. But for a smaller subset, resistance isn’t just inertia; it’s a calculated risk. Some possess irreplaceable human skills, like editorial judgment or audience trust, that insulate them from pressure to adapt. Most, however, lack that luxury.
What distinguishes the successful adopters isn’t just technical proficiency, but a mindset shift. “We’ve seen that the people who thrive with AI aren’t the ones who resist change—they’re the ones who treat learning as a personal asset,” said Heimgartner in an interview with World Today News. At Ringier, the company has abandoned mandatory training in favor of a certificate-based system. Employees who complete AI-related courses—ranging from technical workshops to strategic briefings—receive verifiable credentials. These aren’t internal badges; they’re shareable on LinkedIn and referenced in employment documents. The message is clear: proficiency isn’t a company obligation; it’s a career investment.
This approach aligns with broader industry trends. A 2025 McKinsey report found that organizations treating AI skills as transferable assets—rather than proprietary tools—retain talent longer and attract higher-caliber hires. The shift reflects a fundamental recalibration: in an era where AI tools like Copilot or Gemini are table stakes, the competitive edge lies not in access to technology, but in the ability to wield it. “We’re not just preparing employees for Ringier’s future,” Heimgartner said. “We’re preparing them for the future of work, period.”
Yet the model isn’t without challenges. The “multipliers”—the small group of employees who drive adoption—face burnout risks. Their enthusiasm often outpaces organizational support structures, leaving them to troubleshoot, mentor, and advocate simultaneously. Heimgartner’s next focus, she confirmed, will be identifying these individuals earlier, providing targeted resources, and preventing their disengagement. “You can’t force adoption,” she noted. “But you can create the conditions where the people who want to lead the change don’t get exhausted in the process.”
Behind the scenes, WAN-IFRA is compiling data on how publishers globally are navigating AI-driven disruptions, particularly the rise of AI search engines and bot traffic. The organization’s upcoming report, slated for release ahead of the 2026 World News Media Congress, will assess whether Heimgartner’s approach—rewarding curiosity over converting resistors—is scalable. Early indicators suggest it may be. Publishers adopting similar incentive structures, such as Schibsted Media Group in Norway and Gannett in the U.S., have seen adoption rates climb by 40% within six months, according to internal surveys cited by industry analysts.
For now, the debate rages internally at companies like Ringier: Is AI adoption a top-down mandate, or a bottom-up evolution? Heimgartner’s stance is clear. “The resistors will either adapt or be left behind,” she said. “But the curious? We’re building a system where they don’t just survive—they thrive.” The next question, she added, is whether the industry can replicate that system at scale.
