Key Trends in News & Media for 2025 and the Role of AI-Powered Solutions

Gabriela Takacova & Violeta Milarova

Feb 20

The way news is produced, delivered, and consumed keeps shifting, and as we move through 2025, a few big changes have become impossible to ignore. News organizations are working harder than ever to keep up, figuring out how to connect with audiences, stay financially stable, and make the most of technology without losing their core identity.

We got a firsthand look at these shifts through collaboration with some of the leading sites in the media sphere. Our insights were also confirmed during the INMA Media Innovation Week in Helsinki, where some of the biggest names in the industry, like Axel Springer, Mediahuis, and DMG Media, came together to talk about where things are headed. What stood out the most? Two major challenges:

• Maintaining a strong editorial voice in an era where AI is reshaping everything.
• Finding better ways to bring in subscribers and, more importantly, keep them.

These aren’t small issues, but AI-driven personalization, when done right, can help tackle both. Let’s break it down.

Insight #1: Editorial Control Still Matters a Lot

Even as AI becomes more common in newsrooms, editors are still the ones shaping what people see. This is especially true on homepages, where first impressions matter. The trick is finding the balance between using AI to improve efficiency and keeping the human touch that gives a news brand its voice.

AI can suggest personalized content at scale, but editorial decisions ultimately shape brand identity, add context and relevance, and provide a sense of purpose that algorithms simply can’t replicate. That’s why editors need to stay in the driver’s seat.

How Recombee Supports Editorial Oversight

This is exactly why Recombee’s platform is built the way it is. Instead of replacing human judgment, its recommendation engine works alongside editors, making sure they still have control over what gets featured.

With its “human-in-the-loop” approach, editors can tweak AI-generated recommendations in real time, adjusting specific content visibility, prioritizing important stories, and ensuring the homepage reflects the publication’s editorial values. It’s about using AI to enhance editors’ voices, not override them.

Insight #2: The Subscription Game Is Tougher Than Ever

Getting people to pay for news is one thing. Keeping them subscribed? That’s an entirely different battle. With so many media options out there, audiences expect content that feels tailored to them, otherwise they’ll move on.

Personalization isn’t just a nice feature anymore; it’s what keeps readers engaged. If a news platform consistently delivers stories that match someone’s interests, they’re way more likely to stick around.

How Recombee Helps Keep Readers Hooked

Recombee’s AI-driven recommendation engine takes personalization up a notch by analyzing browsing habits, content interactions, and even location in real time to surface the most relevant stories for each user.

Beyond on-site recommendations, it also fine-tunes email newsletters, ensuring subscribers receive content that genuinely matches their interests instead of a generic list of articles. Infinite scroll feeds in news apps are another example of AI-driven content delivery, a concept familiar from platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. The result? Higher engagement, better retention, and more loyal readers.

What a Recommender Engine Needs to Deliver in 2025

For news organizations trying to keep up with changing audience expectations, having a solid recommendation system isn’t optional anymore, it’s a necessity. Based on what’s happening in the industry, here are four key things a good recommender engine should do:

1. Deliver Breaking News Instantly with Real-Time Updates

People expect to see the latest stories the moment they happen. A strong recommender engine must push breaking news to readers instantly, ensuring they stay informed without delay. Recombee’s real-time engine keeps media platforms ahead of the competition by delivering fresh stories as soon as they are published, making them the go-to source for up-to-the-minute updates.

2. Handle Traffic Spikes Without Slowing Down

Major news events like elections, championship games, and political scandals can drive huge surges in traffic. If a platform can’t keep up, readers will look elsewhere. Recombee’s system is built to scale effortlessly, handling tens of thousands of recommendations per second so sites stay responsive and reliable, even at peak demand.

3. Create Personalized News Feeds for Every Reader

No two readers are the same. Some want political deep dives, while others follow tech trends or entertainment gossip. Recombee ensures that every user gets a feed tailored to their interests by analyzing reading habits, engagement patterns, and device preferences. Whether browsing on a laptop or skimming headlines on mobile, readers get a seamless, highly relevant experience.

4. Boost Engagement with Cross-Platform and Cross-Site Recommendations

Readers don’t just stop at one article. They explore, follow links, and engage with related content across different formats. A smart recommender engine should connect the dots, guiding users toward relevant stories, opinion pieces, videos, and even classifieds or e-commerce pages. Through recirculation, Recombee helps publishers keep audiences engaged longer by continuously suggesting content that matches their interests, increasing both readership and revenue.

5. Turn Data into Actionable Insights with Real-Time Analytics

A good recommender engine isn’t just about delivering content. It should also provide publishers with deep insights into user behavior. Recombee’s Insights tool, available in the Admin UI, allows publishers to track how readers engage with recommendations and explore a range of analytical views or create custom reports. By understanding which topics are gaining traction and where engagement spikes, publishers can fine-tune recommendation rules and align the system with their editorial strategy.

6. Upgrade Search with AI-Powered Semantic Understanding

Finding the right news shouldn’t feel like a guessing game. Traditional keyword-based searches often deliver results that are too broad or miss the real intent behind a query. Recombee’s semantic search changes that by interpreting meaning, context, and user intent rather than just matching keywords. With LLM-powered natural language processing, users can search as if they’re having a conversation, getting smarter, more relevant results that align with what they actually mean, not just what they type.

AI + Human Judgment = Smarter News Delivery

The future of news isn’t about choosing between automation and human expertise. It is about making them work together. AI-driven personalization can improve efficiency and engagement, but only when it complements the human side of journalism rather than replacing it.

For media companies looking to stay ahead, the key is choosing AI solutions that respect editorial control, enhance personalization, and scale with audience needs. Recombee was built with these challenges in mind, helping publishers create smarter, more engaging news experiences without losing their unique voice.

Want to see how AI-powered recommendations play out in a real-world newsroom?

Check out how Prima, the largest media group in the Czech market, used Recombee to transform its content strategy.

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