Hi there.

Did you miss our Webinar looking at Apple Intelligence, OpenAI audio, and Meta Ray-Ban glasses? 

I am concerned people are underestimating the impact of Apple Intelligence for news organisations. Just skip to minute 12.30 where we get around a few paywalls by using the “hide distracting items” feature in Safari (including a New York Times brand, LA Times, and more). And as you probably know by now, I believe audio will play a big part in our future. You can catch up on the Webinar here where I hope you enjoy the live examples (all of which worked!). 

Today I am looking at OpenAIs two new(ish) products that I believe are still in beta: SearchGPT and voice. These products are two that are shaping the future of content discovery. Both give excellent consumer experiences, but only one leaves room for discovery of news content. 

Drop me a note if there is anything you’d like to see in this newsletter — whether it’s on a particular subject or a feature you’d like to see. I’m at Jodie.hopperton@INMA.org.

Jodie

What SearchGPT looks like for news

Last year I wrote about how search was changing with AI. Now SearchGPT by OpenAI has been released as a prototype. I was granted early access so wanted to share what it looks like and what this may mean for news organisations. 

TLDR: It’s in the test phase where three different searches brought up three different iterations of what an answer could look like. 

Below you see three screens. The search function starts very much in the same way as ChatGPT with an open box at  the bottom of the page. As you hit “return,” an answer is produced. My first search was a few days before the election, and I was curious to see how it handled a question around polling.

The answer is cited at various points (see first screenshot) which have a link including a brief description on hover over (see second screenshot). There is also a list of sources illustrated by a few icons at the bottom of the text. When you click on these, you get to the third screenshot, a clear list of sources in a pop-up.

Each link takes you out to a new window:

I then thought I’d try something a little more contentious news-wise and asked who would win the election. I was surprised to see a different format appeared. In this format, citations are given with no hover over, and there is simply a button at the end called “sources” but no logos.

I then thought I would try a completely different search around a hard-hitting news story — the floods in Spain. This answer is much more structured, with subheads and bullets. Again there are mid-text citations with hover overs and logos with the sources.

Clearly this is in trial mode so we’re unlikely to know what the final will look like. And with any consumer tech product, it will be iterated upon constantly.

Date for the diary: Product and Tech Town Hall on November 20

Five members of the INMA advisory council will be joining me to discuss what product and tech is telling publishers about organisations, product branding, user experience, and matching content with people at the right time. It’s an open town hall so anyone can join. Please tell your friends. Everyone can sign up here.  

OpenAI Voice

In a recent Webinar, 67% of people thought audio/speech was likely or definitely the future [of media]. Pretty much all charts, including the one below, back up the trend that more and more people are listening to online audio. 

Voices in your ear can feel more “real” and trustworthy than much online content. Also this increased listening is generation agnostic.

All of this should point to a rosy future. However, as I wrote recently, we need to find our place within this rather clever AI audio world. And I want to show you one product that makes this potentially difficult. 

Remember the movie Her in 2013? This was remarkably prescient when we look at OpenAI’s voice chat. It feels like we are not that far off. Perhaps not quite in content but certainly not in tone, intonation, and speech.  

The default voice is Maple, which OpenAI defines as “cheerful and candid.” You can also choose from a total of nine voices such as Juniper which is “open and upbeat,” Sol which is “savvy and relaxed,” Spruce which is “calm and affirming,” Arbor which is “easygoing and versatile” (and great for anyone who likes a British accent), or one of the four others. These are so good that I honestly find it more intuitive to say who than which. 

Here are the key points:

• Interactive voice is here and it’s impressive.

• It’s conversational, which means you can interrupt and react to what is being said.

• You can ask to change emotion.

• You can ask to whisper.

• You can ask it to speak in and interact with it in multiple languages.

• Overall it’s very slick, and I am yet to hear a mistake.

The only way to fully understand this is to spend time trying it out. I’ve tried to show a selection of the above in action in a video, which you can access by clicking here.

From a consumer experience, it’s incredible. I genuinely find it hard to fault; it’s like talking to a friend who can give you an infinite amount of data in a smooth speech format.

But where does news fit in? Or any owned content come to that?  

While I have used OpenAI’s product as I understand it to be the most advanced, it isn’t the only one out there. Look at the search results when I “Google OpenAI voice chat” …

I believe the future is audio, and we need to figure out our place within this environment.  

About this newsletter 

Today’s newsletter is written by Jodie Hopperton, based in Los Angeles and lead for the INMA Product and Tech Initiative. Jodie will share research, case studies, and thought leadership on the topic of global news media product.

This newsletter is a public face of the Product and Tech Initiative by INMA, outlined here. E-mail Jodie at jodie.hopperton@inma.org with thoughts, suggestions, and questions. Sign up to our Slack channel.

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