Chatbots now explain the news to 10% of users: the media’s challenge

More and more people are asking a chatbot to explain the news: weekly use went from 7% to 10% of the population, according to the Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report 2026, cited by elDiario.es. The figure is still a minority, but it marks a behavioral shift.

How it works

AI assistants do not deliver a list of links: they summarize, compare, interpret and allow follow-up questions. In doing so, they highlight certain facts, connect some sources with others and leave out elements that may be important.

The risk for the media

When an AI explains a news story, it also decides what is left out. Media, companies and institutions must ensure their sources and public data are clear, so the automatic summary does not omit crucial context.

What it means

Recent analyses suggest AI does not replace the media, but becomes an intermediate layer between those who produce information and those who consume it. For journalism, the own value lies in the unexpected: verification and context that a model cannot generate on its own.

The key figure: from 7% to 10% of weekly users of news chatbots, according to the Digital News Report 2026.