5 predictions for AI’s growing role in the media in 2026

With AI adoption accelerating, 2026 could be a turning point for publishers navigating disruption, opportunity, and ethical dilemmas. For the past two years, I’ve written predictions for how AI will continue to change the media industry and the business of news in the coming year. Prognosticating is a risky business even at the most tranquil of times, and media’s AI era is anything but: bots are multiplying, newsrooms are shrinking, and new business models always seem to be still developing.