Today, artificial intelligence is disrupting the news industry as it is in many other sectors. This is not necessarily a negative situation, but artificial intelligence applications offer many opportunities to improve the reader experience of news sites and provide a more personalised, fast and impressive experience to their users. It might be good to consider some of the possibilities that AI applications can improve the reader experience of readers of digital news sites and to make some suggestions in this regard.
Content recommendations and personalisation
Artificial intelligence can offer personalised content recommendations by analysing users’ preferences and reading habits. Thanks to machine learning and user behaviour analysis, news can be recommended in line with the user’s interests and preferences. Thus, users can easily access more content on the topics they are interested in and their reading experience becomes more satisfying. For example, it is very possible to get information about a user’s interests and experience by having a small chat with a chatbot powered by an API on your site.
Automatic translation
News websites can perform automatic translation using artificial intelligence applications. Thus, they can present news published in different languages to their readers in a way that reaches a wider audience. While users have the opportunity to read news in their native languages, news websites can appeal to an international audience. Of course, there are some problems that may arise here, which I have mentioned in one of my previous articles; but since we are almost certain that these features will be used in the short term, it would not be wise not to include it among the possibilities.
Natural language processing and chat bots
Artificial intelligence can increase interaction on news sites with chat bots equipped with natural language processing technology. Users can communicate with chatbots to ask questions, get more information about the news or make comments. Chat bots can provide instant responses to users, making the reader experience more interactive and personalised.
Image and video analysis
Artificial intelligence applications can make news content more impressive and visually rich through image and video analysis. Thanks to artificial intelligence, news websites can recognise objects in images, automatically summarise video content and provide users with access to more visual content. This makes the reader experience more immersive and engaging.
Creating compelling news summaries
Artificial intelligence can save users time by presenting news content in short summaries. Artificial intelligence applications that summarise the main ideas and important details of the news enable users to get information quickly. This is actually a blessing for the reader whose attention threshold is extremely low.
Interactive graphics and data visualisations
I do not believe that we have yet been able to fully convey the importance of data visualisation to journalists in Turkey, even if we give lectures and tell them about the award winners. Artificial intelligence can create interactive graphics and data visualisations by analysing data in news content. Readers can take a deeper look at the data and comprehend the information more easily through interactive graphics that provide a better understanding of the news. This visually enriches the reader experience and enables information to be communicated more effectively.
User interface customisation
Artificial intelligence can customise the user interface of the website based on readers’ personal preferences. By taking into account factors such as readers’ colour preferences, font sizes and layouts, an experience tailored to the needs of each user can be offered. In this way, users can use news websites more comfortably and harmoniously according to their preferences.
Push notifications and customised alerts
Artificial intelligence can enable users to follow the news by sending them push notifications and customised alerts. Based on news headlines or pre-determined keywords determined according to users’ interests, users can be provided with up-to-date information about the news. This makes the news experience more comprehensive, reducing the likelihood of users missing important news.
Intelligibility adaptation based on reading speed and comprehension level
Artificial intelligence can optimise the readability of news texts by analysing the user’s reading speed and difficulty level. It can automatically speed up or slow down the texts in accordance with the user’s reading speed. In addition, by adjusting the difficulty level of the texts according to the user’s language skills, it can ensure that every user can easily understand the news.
As a result, artificial intelligence can significantly improve readers’ news experience by combining with design in the news industry. This technology can enable news sites to adopt a user-centric approach and offer various customisation and personalisation options to meet users’ expectations.
The possibilities we have discussed in this article are just some of the opportunities that artificial intelligence offers to improve the news experience. As technology advances rapidly, even more exciting innovations are likely to emerge in the future. Therefore, it is imperative that news websites continue to monitor AI applications and utilise this technology to provide the best experience for their readers.
