Speakers
Day 01
Wednesday, July 29, 2026
- 12:30 PM
- 12:45 PM
- 1:10 PM
Taneth Evans, The Wall Street Journal’s Head of Digital, will share how the publication is driving a top-down cultural movement that treats AI as additive. Supported by an Editor in Chief championing innovation, the WSJ is embracing AI while staying selective about its application. This session explores how that strategy empowers investigative reporters and product developers alike.
- 1:35 PM
AI is taking your traffic — based on Piano data, search referrals fell 36% in 2025, while AI answer engines send back a fraction of a percent in return. Michael Silberman, EVP Media Strategy at Piano covers what's working: locking down content at the edge before it's scraped for free, and using AI inside the business to cut churn and lift conversion. Drawing on a new survey of 80 media executives, a practical look at defending your content and putting AI to work on your terms.
- 2:00 PM
Cristobal Cheyre Forestier, Assistant Professor of Information Science at Cornell University and co-author of Beyond Search: LLM Adoption and the Concentration of Web Traffic, will present updated findings from the research. The new empirical findings examine how LLMs are influencing where users go after AI interactions and whether AI-driven discovery concentrates attention among a few destinations or distributes traffic more broadly across the open web.
- 2:25 PM
Audio is where we can see the future first. Because spoken conversation is AI's native interface, NPR has unique insight into how discovery, branding, attribution, and audience relationships will evolve before those changes fully reshape every other content format. Erica Osher, VP of AI Labs, will explore how AI is reshaping audio discovery, voice experiences, audience trust, and direct relationships and why these changes matter to NPR and in other formats beyond audio as AI increasingly mediates how consumers access trusted content.
- 2:50 PM
- 3:15 PM
As AI agents become a new gateway to information, publishers must rethink how content is created, structured, and delivered. In this session, Nada Arnot from The Economist will share how they're preparing for a "two-track internet"—one optimized for people and another for AI. The discussion will explore the product, content, and strategic decisions publishers need to make to preserve value, maintain control, and thrive in an AI-driven discovery ecosystem.
- 3:40 PM
As AI agents, crawlers, and bots increasingly access, summarize, and reuse publisher content, control is not just a technical challenge but a core product and business strategy. Leaders from BBC Studios, The Associated Press, and News Corp will discuss considerations for establishing the policies, technologies, and frameworks to govern AI access to their content. From bot management and permissions to product design and AI distribution strategies, this session explores the rules of engagement for an AI-mediated internet on terms that support sustainable journalism, storytelling, and long-term business growth.
- 4:05 PM
Marissa Zanetti-Crume, Global Head of Product at Bloomberg Media, will share how Bloomberg Media's approach starts with understanding how audience needs are shifting as AI evolves and how it's shaping the need to deliver more relevant, contextual and accessible experiences - making it easier to discover and engage with trusted journalism. The discussion will explore the principles that guide Bloomberg Media's product decisions, how audience feedback informs its approach, and considerations for applying AI in ways that enhance the audience experience.
- 4:30 PM
- 5:00 PM
