Robo-journalism is coming – but how will it affect your brand?

Mylan Vu, the managing director of global communications agency, Hotwire, has a theory about how customers have changed in 2019. “There’s no longer a brand safe from judgement by consumers,” she says. In fact, Hotwire’s research suggests Aussie marketers – more so than any other nation – are more likely to manage a crisis at one point or another. On reflection, it’s no surprise that cynical consumers are holding businesses to account because they’re being bombarded with more and more news and advertising.

All of which means, of course, that journalists now have more power and influence than ever before to make or break a company’s fortunes.

Yet, soon, marketers may have to face an altogether more unpredictable threat because editors are commissioning AI robots to generate stories. What was once the stuff of science-fiction is now a reality to help alleviate the workload of depleted newsrooms. In 2014, for instance, an algorithm called Quakebot helped the Los Angeles Times publish a story within three minutes of an earthquake. The Washington Post’s AI tool, Heliograf, wrote 850 articles in its first year, generating 500,000 views. And closer to home, Guardian Australia published its first scoop written by a robot in January this year – a detailed, important piece about political donations falling significantly.