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In this issue: AI Overviews invade Google Discover while AI Mode sparkles for attention. Why some journalists are living in an AI bubble while others remain oblivious. Alexandra Borchardt on the three strategies every newsroom needs. Plus: I created a “fakecast” and immediately regretted it.
What we’re talking about: Google has launched AI Overviews in Discover. It’s kind of a big deal. When someone searches on Google and visits your website, that’s Search. Then there’s a personalized feed in the Google app with suggested articles—that’s Discover.
For some publishers, Discover really is important. Even more so now that AI Overviews are eating up real estate in Search, blending and bundling articles into summaries. Until now, Discover was big pictures and single articles. It was fun while it lasted.
AI Overviews in Discover are currently live in the US, focusing on lifestyle and entertainment, as TechCrunch confirmed with Google.
But another US launch could be even more consequential: AI Mode, Google’s search chatbot.
AI Mode gets promoted right in the search bar and at the top of search result pages. It sparkles in rainbow colors to grab attention and pull you into a chat interface. No more search results, just answers.
Is this the future of search? Or just Google trying really hard to make AI happen? Either way, it’s a whole new Google.
What else I’ve been reading:
Strategy over shiny objects: Newsrooms are split between sophisticated AI projects and journalists who have no clue what’s happening down the hall, says Alexandra Borchardt. Her advice? Start with strategy, not tech—and maybe listen to some birds once in a while.
Three Questions with Alexandra Borchardt
Alexandra Borchardt is a Media Consultant, Researcher, and Journalist.
What's the most important question right now?
The most important thing is to have a strategy at all – or better put: to have strategies. You need a business strategy: How do you want to show up in that AI-mediated world of information and communication and survive there economically?
You need an audience strategy: Which audiences do you want to serve and what is your unique value proposition for them? And you need a talent strategy: What kind of talent do I need for this and how do I train, recruit and retain it?
And then you need to follow up with all the steps that feed into your strategy: prepare your data, develop and test use cases, reimagine workflows and so on. It is not about primarily about tech but about strategy and smart change management.
Are we taking AI seriously enough?
Yes and no – and you have to distinguish between the internal and the external view. Externally, the media needs to ramp up reporting – not only in the tech section but in every beat ranging from the business section to politics, science and education. Statistics show that users are taking to AI in unprecedented numbers and even more so in their private lives than at work. This needs to be reflected in in nuanced reporting about opportunities and risks, about power and control.
Internally, I observe a split into two worlds: There are very sophisticated projects, responses, and discussions in many media companies, way more so than I had experienced with the initial digital transformation. But I also talk to seasoned, incredibly sophisticated journalists who don’t seem to have a clue about what’s being discussed in other parts of their companies and in the industry’s media-AI-bubble. And then, of course, there are media managers who are still pursuing their same old thing, who haven’t heard the shot – which is a problem of ignorance, not of noise.
What's a good hobby to pick up?
Anything offline. Being in nature listening to birds instead of podcasts. Devouring centuries-old art and architecture, the richness of imagination, craft and love for beauty that they can exude. This is important to not get carried away with assumptions and predictions about tech and what it can potentially do, to not fall into the trap of expecting linear developments. It keeps us connected with human needs that have persisted throughout the centuries and with reality.
Widely underreported aspects of AI are its vast needs for resources and energy that might not correspond to what the planet has to offer or what is geopolitically realistic. A sense of humility serves us humans well. I also recommend knitting. Because you can’t grab your smartphone once both hands are engaged.
Hands on: I did a little experiment, creating a podcast where two AI personas discuss content based on a newsletter and three related articles. I fed a detailed prompt into a large Claude model, then ran the output through ElevenLabs and Gemini text-to-speech. Essentially, AI talking to itself.
You can find the MP3, transcript, and all prompts here.
Midway through, it hit me: I’m cool with human-like voices narrating text, but mimicking an actual conversation? That feels different. Uncanny. It’s not a podcast. It’s not an audio overview. It’s a “fakecast.” (Trademark pending. Just kidding. But seriously, let’s make that a thing.)
Whether this is good or bad is kind of irrelevant. ElevenLabs and Google are actively pushing these features. But still, I can’t help but wonder—will this all feel like a gimmick in a few months? Anyway, if nothing else, let’s at least agree to call them by their name. Say it with me: fakecasts. Catchy, right?
One more thing: You know what word I can’t stop associating with AI lately? “Dropped”—or better yet, “just dropped.” A company launches something. A paper gets published. Doesn’t matter what it is, it gets dropped. Like an Amazon package into your neighbor’s garden.
What’s supposed to sound like “Drop it like it’s hot” now sounds more like carelessly discarded trash to me. Thanks for nothing, AI.
A very good post from the Nuclear Threat Initiative on Threads:
This is THEFUTURE.
