Recently, The Wall Street Journal is conducting a new experiment by introducing AI-generated article summaries that appear as "key points" at the top of news reports. The first test of this feature was seen in a report about Trump’s Department of Education plans. To validate the effectiveness of this new feature, The Wall Street Journal has opened feedback channels for readers to understand their actual needs.
These "key points" summaries are generated by AI tools and undergo editorial review before publication. The summary box clearly indicates this information, ensuring that readers are aware of the source of the summary and the review process it has undergone. Additionally, the summary box provides links to explain how The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones News use AI tools.
Taneth Evans, head of the digital department at The Wall Street Journal, stated, “We are continuously evaluating new technologies and storytelling methods to provide more value to our subscribers. To this end, we are currently conducting a series of A/B tests to gain deeper insights into users' needs regarding summaries.” This indicates that the newspaper is not only seeking breakthroughs in technological innovation but also continuously adjusting its interaction with readers.
Moreover, the trend of AI-generated summaries is becoming increasingly common among news websites and platforms. Gannett, the parent company of USA Today, has also begun experimenting with adding AI-generated summaries to its articles, using a similar "key points" format. This trend offers users a convenient way to quickly access information, although experts suggest that when possible, readers should still try to read the full article to avoid misinformation that may arise from potential errors in AI tools.
In this context, whether AI summaries, as an emerging auxiliary tool, can truly meet user needs remains to be seen.
Key Points:
🌐 The Wall Street Journal is testing AI-generated "key point" summaries aimed at enhancing the reader experience.
📝 These summaries are generated by artificial intelligence and reviewed by editors to ensure information accuracy.
🔍 The application of AI summaries is becoming more widespread in the news industry, with many media platforms beginning to experiment with this feature.