The Wall Street Journal Is Testing AI-Generated Summaries of Its Articles

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Wrong Turn

The Wall Street Journal is testing AI-generated summaries of its articles, The Verge reports, in the latest sign of the technology’s inroads into the media industry.

Subtle Integration

The feature is implemented in a way that most readers of the century-plus-old paper may not even realize they are viewing the product of a large language model. The summaries appear as a “Key Points” box above the body of the article, featuring several bullet points that provide the main takeaways. These are not labeled as AI-generated up front. Instead, the disclaimer is tucked away in a dropdown menu accessed by clicking an information icon in the box’s top right corner.

“An artificial intelligence tool created this summary, which was based on the text of the article and checked by an editor,” the disclaimer reads. It remains unclear which AI model the organization is using.

Limited Rollout and Editorial Oversight

The disclaimer also links to a page detailing how the WSJ and Dow Jones Newswires employ AI models. In addition to article summaries, the news organizations use AI in “complex data-driven investigations,” for translation, and for creating audio versions of articles.

“We are always assessing new technologies and methods of storytelling to provide more value to our subscribers,” Taneth Evans, head of digital at the WSJ, said in a statement to The Verge. “To that end, we are currently running a series of A/B tests to understand our users’ needs with regards to summarization.” (An A/B test involves randomly assigning users to view one of two versions of a webpage and evaluating which design performs best.)

“The newsroom does this hand-in-hand with colleagues in technology and while speaking with readers at every step of the way,” Evans added. “We also disclose how we leverage artificial intelligence tools to support our journalism whenever it is used.”

AI Across Newsrooms

Despite ongoing concerns about the factual reliability of generative AI, the technology continues to be adopted by news organizations. Some outlets, such as CNET, have used AI to write entire articles that contained multiple errors.

Other organizations have deployed the technology for more ancillary functions. AI-generated summaries are one such application. USA Today, for example, uses them in a similar “Key Points” format, but explicitly labels the box as an “AI-assisted summary.”

The Washington Post hosts its own AI-powered tool to answer questions about climate change, though it has shown notable limitations. Even The New York Times is experimenting with AI to draft headlines and article summaries.

These developments remain concerning because generative AI models frequently hallucinate or fabricate facts, posing risks to editorial standards.

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