AI in Indian News: Adoption, Trust & the Human Element

The Evolving Newsroom: Indian Publishers Grapple with AI Integration

The integration of artificial intelligence into newsrooms globally presents a complex challenge, demanding a careful balance between automation’s efficiencies and the indispensable role of human oversight. In India, this dynamic is particularly nuanced, shaped by a vibrant multilingual media landscape and a deep-rooted commitment to journalistic trust. Recent discussions at WAN-IFRA’s AI in Media Forum in Bengaluru highlighted the varied approaches Indian publishers are taking to “tame the AI elephant,” as described by Prof. Sunil Saxena, Founder-Director of the AI Media Academy. Saxena’s analogy underscores the pervasive and increasingly urgent questions surrounding AI’s influence on newsroom practices and long-term sustainability.

Differing Approaches to AI Adoption

The level of AI integration varies significantly across Indian news organizations. The Printers Mysore, publisher of Deccan Herald and Prajavani, has primarily focused on utilizing AI for SEO optimization, data tagging, and coding tasks, largely within their digital and technology teams. Sowbhagyalakshmi K.T., Director of The Printers Mysore, noted a degree of both “resistance and curiosity” among editorial staff. The company is exploring AI-powered translation across its publications, but this remains in the testing phase. A key principle guiding their approach is the “human sandwich” model – leveraging AI assistance although retaining journalist input at the beginning and finish of the editorial process.

In contrast, Collective Newsroom, the BBC’s Indian-language content provider, adopts a more cautious stance. Co-founder & Deputy CEO Mukesh Sharma emphasized that the BBC News brand’s foundation is “all about trust,” leading them to avoid AI-driven content generation. However, they do utilize AI for curation, translations, and basic clip editing, always accompanied by clear disclaimers regarding AI usage. Notably, Collective Newsroom has innovatively employed AI to protect the identities of journalists operating in countries with authoritarian regimes by transforming their voices, a crucial safety measure.

Reuters, is pursuing a more “aggressive” integration of AI, aiming to “augment” its existing capabilities. Tresa Sherin Morera, Senior Editor, Publishing & Production at Thomson Reuters, highlighted the integration of AI into their “Leon” CMS for proofreading and multimedia asset packaging. Finally, Manorama Online prioritizes a “human touch,” ensuring human supervision at every stage of production and oversight before publication, as stated by Coordinating Editor Santhosh George Jacob.

The Multilingual Challenge and Local Nuance

India’s diverse linguistic landscape presents unique challenges for AI implementation in news. Sharma pointed out a performance gap between AI tools for English and Hindi, and those for other Indian languages, largely due to a scarcity of training data for smaller languages. This limitation is significant, as Saxena emphasized that regional, local-language press often possesses a deeper understanding of “ground realities” concerning complex issues like caste, religion, and gender – nuances often absent from the datasets used to train most language models. This local expertise is crucial for accurate and sensitive reporting.

Interestingly, local language content appears to offer some resilience against the decline in search traffic experienced by some publishers due to AI answer engines. Jacob noted that Manorama Online, with its predominantly Malayalam content, hasn’t been significantly impacted, while their English-language title, Deccan Herald, has seen a decrease in search traffic, potentially linked to AI overviews and chatbots providing direct answers instead of directing users to website sources. Creative Brands Mag reported on this trend in January 2026.

Trust, Transparency, and the Human Element

A central theme emerging from the Bengaluru forum was the potential of AI to either bolster or erode trust in media. Panellists generally expressed optimism, viewing AI as a potential “ally” in building trust, provided it assists journalists throughout the newsroom process. Sowbhagyalakshmi K.T. Cited AI’s ability to efficiently analyze complex documents, such as lengthy court judgements, as a valuable application. Sharma underscored the importance of newsroom leadership in determining how AI is utilized, suggesting applications like data scraping and content enhancement to build trust.

The consensus was that AI should not be viewed as a cost-cutting measure, but rather as a tool to support journalists and enable them to focus on their core work. Morera emphasized the demand for ongoing discussion about how AI can improve journalism “better, faster and responsibly,” paving the way for increased trust. However, Jacob cautioned that AI is still in its early stages and will likely become significantly more powerful, necessitating a proactive approach to “tame this beast” while preserving core journalistic values and human oversight.

Workflow Automation and Practical Applications

The WAN-IFRA workshop itself, led by Prof. Saxena, focused on practical applications of AI for newsrooms. LinkedIn posts detailing the event highlighted the session’s emphasis on workflow automation, prompt engineering, and building personalized newsroom apps using ChatGPT without coding. This hands-on approach reflects a shift in the industry from abstract debate to practical deployment of AI tools.

Navigating the Future: A Procedural Outlook

The immediate next steps for many Indian newsrooms will likely involve continued experimentation with AI tools, focusing on areas like translation, data analysis, and content curation. The success of these initiatives will hinge on addressing the challenges posed by the multilingual landscape and ensuring adequate training data for all relevant languages. Publishers will need to prioritize transparency and clearly communicate to their audiences when and how AI is being used in the production of news content. Ongoing dialogue between newsroom leaders, journalists, and AI experts will be crucial to navigate the evolving landscape and harness the potential of AI while safeguarding journalistic integrity and public trust. The focus will remain on augmenting human capabilities, not replacing them, ensuring that the “human sandwich” model – or a similar approach prioritizing human oversight – remains central to the editorial process.