struggling online publisher BuzzFeed will start using artificial intelligence (AI) to help write its quizzes after laying off dozens of employees.
The media company, known for its light-hearted articles and ‘listicles’, will work with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPTon initiative.
The technology will be used to create quizzes on the website that are tailored to an individual, such as a pitch for a personalized rom-com.
The quiz would prompt questions such as “Choose a trope for your rom com” and “Tell us an endearing flaw you have” before using AI to generate an article based on the answers, according to a memo to staff from the CEO Jona Peretti.
Mr. Peretti said he planned to make greater use of AI in BuzzFeed’s editorial output and business operations this year, according to the memo the Wall Street Journal perused.
Mr Peretti said he expected AI to aid the creative process and improve content, while humans would provide “cultural currency” and “inspired cues”.
But he suggested that use of the technology could be expanded further to help “create, personalize and animate the content yourself” over the next 15 years.
A BuzzFeed spokesperson said the company remained focused on human-generated journalism in its newsroom.
The move highlights the growing interest in AI, especially since the public launch of ChatGPT late last year. Microsoft has invested a reported $10 billion in OpenAI amid excitement over the tool.
US publisher CNET has already started experimenting with the technology, using an AI tool to create about 75 personal finance articles. It has since dropped the lawsuit after finding a number of factual errors.
BuzzFeed self-published a story about CNET’s AI push, written entirely by ChatGPT.
The company’s move to AI comes just over a month after it laid off 12 percent of its workforce — about 180 employees.
Mr. Peretti blames the cuts on the deteriorating economic outlook and changes in the way people consume media.
BuzzFeed has been overshadowed by financial problems since the disastrous IPO at the end of 2021.
At its peak, the online publisher was worth $1.7 billion. It was one of several new media start-ups that caught the attention of both investors and the public in the 2010s, alongside Vice and Vox.
Shares in BuzzFeed, however, have lost more than three-quarters of their value since it went public through a merger with a special acquisition company (Spac). It is now worth about $340 million.
The stock rose Thursday after the Wall Street Journal reported that BuzzFeed received millions of dollars from Meta to drive more content creators to Facebook and Instagram.