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What's the way forward for digital news in AI age? Experts share advice
HT Digital CEO Puneet Jain said at the DNPA Conclave 2026 that publisher who build direct ties with their audience and AI will be the one to monetise bigger.
Stressing on the need for building trust and context in the age of AI-generated content, experts in the field on Thursday said publishers who are able to build direct relationship with their audience and artificial intelligence will be the one to monetise faster.
In a panel discussion titled ‘New Economics of Content in the AI Age’, moderated by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HT Digital Puneet Jain, the experts said at the DNPA Conclave 2026, "Content is getting produced at mass now. Now as publishers, we have to ensure that the content we put out is trustworthy. Are we willing to introduce trust as a matrix. This will lay the foundation for the way forward.”
Taking part in the panel discussion were Toshit Panigrahi, Co-Founder and CEO, TollBit; Gowthaman Ragothaman, Founder and CEO, Saptharushi; Marcus Pousette, Head of SpringsServe & Revenue Strategy, Asia, Magnite; Aaron Rigby, Regional Director, SEASIA & India, Taboola; and Bharat Gupta, Founder, ToBe & Ex-CEO, Jagran New Media.
Asked by Jain to give one single advice to publishers in the AI age, TollBit's Panigrahi batted for adding credibility framework in teams, Pousette said the game needs to be changed “a little bit”.
“Each one of you build your first-party data,” Saptharushi said in his advice, while Jain concluded by saying that, “Publishers who truly understand their data, control their supply path and build direct relationship with their audience and AI will be the one to monetise bigger and faster.”
The remarks come amid increasing friction globally between AI platforms and media organisations over revenue sharing, especially as the AI platforms leverage news content to drive engagement and advertising income.
Earlier this week at the India AI Summit, news publishers took part in discussions on building meaningful synergy between AI systems and newsrooms.
News organisations - from legacy media houses to digital-first startups - are grappling with a structural disruption that has become increasingly evident over the past year: major AI platforms are ingesting their original reporting to train models and diverting user traffic, often without any commensurate sharing of value.
The DNPA Conclave 2026 brought together policymakers, media leaders and industry stakeholders to discuss regulatory frameworks, newsroom transformation and the economics of digital publishing in an AI-driven environment.
