Last August, Time partnered with the digital agency Code and Theory on an ambitious new venture: Together, the two parties aimed to reimagine the digital presence of the publisher, revamping it with features powered by artificial intelligence.
The project began with the decidedly unsexy task of restructuring the four different databases that, until then, had housed all 102 years of Time content, according to chief operating officer Mark Howard.
That reconfiguration took months, but once it was complete the Code and Theory team was able to quickly develop and ship AI products that made use of the Time archive, Dave DiCamillo, chief technology officer at Code and Theory, told ADWEEK.
In quick succession, the two began unveiling a steady stream of new features.
Last December, in a limited first release, Time introduced an AI tool bar to accompany its Person of the Year package. In March, the publisher debuted a redesigned article page, which has since been used for all subsequent franchise and editorial packages, such as the Time CEO of the Year.
In June, it launched its AI audio briefings, which use the technology to generate daily podcasts based on users’ consumption preferences. And in November, Time launched its on-site AI agent, an answer engine trained solely on Time reporting that can answer user queries.
In the coming year, Code and Theory plans to launch AI products at an even more rapid clip, expanding beyond text into more immersive modes and making use of AI coding tools like Cursor to further expedite development, according to DiCamillo. Releases could increase from every few months to every few weeks.
“It’s on us to show what’s possible from an engineering and product perspective,” he said. “Consumers are not waiting on publishers to figure this out. They need us to bring it to them.”
To be clear, Time is not alone in its efforts to use AI to transform its editorial products. Other publishers, including fellow legacy outlets like Newsweek and The Washington Post, have lately deployed new products at a rapid clip. So too have several digitally native publishers, like Business Insider and Bloomberg Media.
Of course, these efforts have not been without their faults. AI is still liable to hallucinations, and these early experiments have seen their fair share of hiccups, which most often come in the form of inaccurate responses. Bloomberg Media had to correct three dozen AI-generated summaries earlier this year, while Politico’s Capitol AI product has been flagged for a similar series of mishaps.
And such redesigns and format updates are by no means the solution to publishers’ broader economic concerns. Given the larger headwinds buffeting the industry, these updates can feel like shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic.
“They are necessary but not sufficient,” said media analyst Brian Morrisey.
But for Time, the initiative has yielded promising early results. Engagement per user has risen by 51%, according to Howard. And engagement on flagship features specifically, like the Time100, has risen 38%.
The numbers complement a larger momentum afoot at the publisher. Last month, CEO Jessica Sibley outlined the commercial success the brand has seen.
Digital revenues are up 22% year over year, while direct sold digital revenue grew 41%, according to Sibley. The company has been “self-funded” four of the last five quarters, although it declined to comment on whether it was profitable.
(Intriguingly, the company also touted a somewhat bewildering statistic as a cause for celebration. By 2026, events and digital are projected to reach half of total revenue, up from 28% in 2023, according to Sibley. This would suggest that print revenues—along with other miscellany, such as subscriptions, licensing, and the like—still make up a significant portion of its overall business.)
Howard was clear about the source of these revenue gains, which are not the result of these new AI products. Instead, he chalked up the improvements largely to the franchising model and the expanded slate and format of its events offerings.
The website overhaul is still significant for a variety of reasons. First, given that the products are still relatively new, they will likely contribute more to revenue gains in the coming years.
More importantly, though, they reflect one of the most visible ways in which publishers are responding to disruptions to their traffic posed by the emergence of AI search. Time, like other publishers, has seen its readership affected by answer engines.
In response, it has taken steps to better capitalize on the visitors it does receive, deploying products whose primary purpose is to keep users on-site longer, engaging with more articles and generating more ad impressions.
“As we deal with the headwinds of website traffic, when we get someone to our site we want to drive enhanced engagement,” Howard said.
On a more philosophical level, the initiative underscores what it looks like when a publisher treats AI as an asset, rather than solely as a threat, according to Morrissey.
“It’s good to see publishers using AI in ways that are not just defensive or to save money,” he said. “A lot of the use cases of AI are, so far, pretty uninspiring.”
DiCamillo agreed, exhorting other publishers to lean into the technology rather than ignore or villainize it.
“It’s rare that we get a publisher that wants to push the bounds like this,” he said. “Time is looking at this technology as an opportunity. If there is going to be a new reality, how can we engage with it?”
