Fighting Back: Reimagining News in the Age of AI Search

Building Trust in the Digital Age: Manorama’s Strategy for Audience Growth

In an era where the media landscape is constantly evolving, attracting and retaining audiences, particularly younger demographics, presents a important challenge. For established news outlets like Manorama, navigating this complex terrain requires a strategic approach that extends beyond technological adoption. As highlighted by industry experts Sharma and Jacob, the core lies in a deeper investment in brand building and positioning, with a renewed emphasis on cultivating direct audience traffic.While Manorama, like many, sees a substantial portion of its audience arriving via direct channels, attracting new segments necessitates engagement on platforms where they actively consume content. “Our total traffic from social media and search is problably less than 20% so we always rely on direct traffic,” explains jacob. However, to reach emerging audiences, “we are trying to attract them from social media thru reels and things like that.”

The overarching solution, according to both Sharma and Jacob, is a commitment to strengthening the brand’s core identity. This involves a proactive stance on direct branding, shifting focus from ephemeral SEO or social media tactics towards establishing a verifiable and credible connection with the audience. “Instead of wasting your time and effort on branding for SEO and even social, we’ll have to do direct branding and get direct traffic,” Jacob emphasizes. “It will take some time, but it will definitely give you a valuable and credible audience.”

Manorama’s successful expansion of its fact-checking initiatives serves as a prime example of this strategy in action. By investing in this area, the outlet has fostered a sense of reliability, leading to increased audience reliance. “Now people are coming to our site to verify the veracity of content; our fact-checking section has experienced a 300% growth, and our traffic to the site has remained stable for the past 1-2 months,” Jacob notes.

Sharma further elaborates on the importance of a clear brand identity: “It’s vital for news brands to have their clear identity and brand positioning in the market,for each brand to understand what we are and how we are positioned in the market.” The key differentiator,he states,lies in how a brand positions itself and consistently adheres to that positioning. This unwavering commitment builds trust, becoming the basic reason why audiences will gravitate towards a news source.

Navigating AI and Building Audience Trust:

in parallel with these brand-centric strategies, both Sharma and Jacob underscore the critical importance of transparency when integrating Artificial Intelligence into journalistic processes. being upfront about AI usage,while firmly reinforcing the centrality of human expertise and editorial standards,is paramount for building credibility.

Key strategies to foster audience trust around AI usage include:

Clear, prominent labelling: Employ straightforward language that explicitly states the involvement of AI assistance or generation. As an example, “This article was partially generated using AI tools and verified by human editors.”
specify AI’s Role: clearly articulate how AI was utilized, whether for translation, data analysis, summarisation, or content generation. Maintain Human Oversight: Emphasize that human journalists consistently review, fact-check, and edit AI-generated content to ensure accuracy and quality.
Be Transparent About the Process: Offer a concise explanation of your AI usage guidelines and overarching editorial standards.
* Consistent Placement: ensure AI disclosures are visible and consistently applied across all content formats.

By prioritizing direct brand building and maintaining a transparent approach to AI integration, news organizations like Manorama can cultivate the trust and loyalty essential for lasting audience growth in today’s dynamic media habitat.

how can news organizations effectively establish and communicate their source credibility to AI search engines?

The Shifting Landscape of news Revelation

The way people consume news is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by the rapid evolution of AI search. Traditional search engine optimization (SEO) tactics are becoming less effective as generative AI directly answers queries, often summarizing information instead of directing users to news websites. This poses a important threat to the financial viability of journalism and the diversity of information sources. The rise of AI-powered search engines like Perplexity AI and the increasing integration of AI into Google Search (like Search Generative Experience – SGE) are fundamentally altering the news ecosystem.

Understanding the AI Search Challenge

AI search isn’t simply about ranking websites higher; it’s about providing direct answers.This has several implications for news organizations:

Reduced website Traffic: Users getting answers directly within the search results are less likely to click through to news articles. This impacts ad revenue and subscription models.

The “Zero-Click” Future: The trend towards “zero-click” searches – where users find everything they need on the search results page – is accelerating.

Attribution & Authority: AI models frequently enough aggregate information from multiple sources without clear attribution, potentially diminishing the value of original reporting. Establishing news source credibility is paramount.

Algorithmic Bias: AI models are trained on data, and that data can contain biases. This can lead to skewed or incomplete news summaries. AI bias in news is a growing concern.

Strategies for News Organizations to Adapt

News organizations need to proactively adapt to thrive in this new habitat.Here’s how:

1. Embrace Structured Data & Schema Markup

Implementing schema markup is crucial. This helps AI understand the context of your content, making it more likely to be included in AI-generated summaries – and potentially attributed correctly. Focus on:

NewsArticle Schema: Clearly define headlines,dates,authors,and article bodies.

FAQ Schema: if your article answers common questions, use FAQ schema to increase visibility in featured snippets.

HowTo Schema: For investigative pieces or guides, use HowTo schema to highlight step-by-step instructions.

2. Focus on original Reporting & Analysis

AI can summarize existing information,but it can’t create original reporting. Invest in:

Investigative Journalism: Deep dives and exclusive stories are less susceptible to AI summarization.

Expert Analysis: Provide unique insights and perspectives that go beyond surface-level reporting.

Local News: Hyperlocal coverage is often underserved by AI and offers a strong value proposition.

3. Optimize for Conversational Search

People are increasingly using natural language queries. Optimize your content for:

Long-Tail Keywords: Target specific, conversational phrases that users are likely to search for. Think “best electric cars for families” instead of just “electric cars.”

Question-Based Headlines: Frame headlines as questions to directly address user intent.

Answer Engine Optimization: Structure content to directly answer common questions related to your topic.

4. Build a Strong Brand & Direct Audience Relationships

reduce reliance on search engines by:

Email Newsletters: Cultivate a loyal audience through regular email updates.

Push Notifications: Deliver breaking news and important updates directly to users’ devices.

Social Media Engagement: Build a strong presence on social media platforms to drive traffic and engagement.

Membership Programs: Offer exclusive content and benefits to paying members.

5. Explore AI-Powered Tools for Content Creation (Responsibly)

While AI poses a threat, it can also be a tool. Consider using AI for:

Transcription & Translation: Automate tedious tasks to free up journalists’ time.

Data Analysis: Use AI to identify trends and patterns in large datasets.

Personalized Content Recommendations: Deliver relevant content to individual users. However, always prioritize human oversight and fact-checking. Avoid relying solely on AI-generated content.

The Role of AI in Code Growth: A Tangential Note

Interestingly, the development of tools like Cursor, an AI-native IDE, highlights the broader