News Consumers’ Perceptions of AI
All the findings below were pulled from the study of 2500 news consumers in partnership with CMG Custom Research unless noted otherwise.
We surveyed users who regularly consume news content. The heaviest users are those consumers of weather, local news, and national news. You will see their consumption frequency below.
Notable highlights from the chart above:
of news consumers surveyed consume weather forecasts at least on a daily basis.
69%
of news consumers surveyed consume local news at least on a daily basis.
50%
Awareness and Use
of AI Among News Consumers
of those surveyed are familiar with AI.
88%
have knowingly used AI.
59%
of news consumers think they've encountered AI-generated news delivered by human presenters.
49%
AI has not been adopted that widely yet, but consumers believe they’re already hearing it and seeing it on the air. They are seeing AI more and more everywhere they look and they are expecting it to be a part of the news content creation process.
Contrast in Perceptions
Those familiar with AI view it positively as innovative and efficient, whereas those unfamiliar fear job displacement and negative outcomes.
In our audio study, we asked, “What one word best describes how you feel about artificial intelligence?
Despite the negative perceptions of non-AI users, they have likely used AI in some capacity or another without knowing it. Whether through a search engine, autocorrect on their smartphone, voice-to-text features, smart speakers, health or fitness trackers, etc., they have experienced improved communication through these AI-powered tools.
AI’s Role in Extending Your Brand
AI unlocks many opportunities to help you reach your audience on the platforms they prefer. From podcasts to social media, AI tools can help you easily repurpose your content and get it distributed quickly and efficiently to the platforms your audience is spending time on when you are off the air.
Podcast Opportunities
In our audio study 90% of audio consumers say they listen to a podcast at least once a week with 32% doing so daily.
of those surveyed often or sometimes listen to a news and information podcast.
89%
*Pulled from the audio segment of the study.
One thing that we learned in the audio study about podcast consumers is that news and information is tied with humor/comedy for the most consumed podcast content at 89%.
This presents a big opportunity for news brands! There is an appetite for news podcasts, and this segment of listeners is currently not being served by their local news stations. Which means they are going somewhere else for their on-demand news content.
AI Tool for Podcasts: Futuri’s POST lets you effortlessly turn your broadcast into a podcast.
Social Media Opportunities
Across all regions, social media is the top way that news consumers get their news and information.
Local television news and local news websites came in 3rd and 4th place after search engines.
From this data, we expect news consumers to check these places first. As a news brand, you need to be on social to reach your consumers when they are looking for news content.
Another key finding from the study is that when asked about how much news consumers would trust AI-generated content across various platforms, local news TV audiences trusted their local sources more than anything else on social media or Reddit.
While news consumers are getting most of their news from social media, they do not trust it as much as their local news brands. This presents an opportunity for AI to repurpose your content and extend your brand's reach on social media. Grow your audience by meeting them where they are actively consuming the most news.
Can AI Avatars Deliver News?
When we surveyed news consumers, we showed them various types of AI avatars, and their responses told us that AI avatars were good but not really ready to go on the air… yet.
Watch an example:
51% of audiences surveyed gave this video an 8-10 score on credibility. 48% of those surveyed gave this an 8-10 score on likelihood to watch. These are certainly strong scores and consideration should be given to airing this type of content on the digital platforms.
The number one reason people consume news is for the weather; the fact that half the news consumers who saw this, are likely to watch, and find it credible is very promising.
Given the rapid rate of AI improvement, with each passing day, the acceptance of avatar-delivered news will continue to grow.
