Business Insider Lays Off 21% of Staff, Embraces AI Amid Traffic Challenges

Business Insider lays off 21 percent of staff to "endure extreme traffic drops.

As reported by The Information and Axios reporter Sara Fischer, CEO Barbara Peng emailed staff on Thursday announcing Business Insider is "scaling back on categories that once performed well on other platforms" and mostly exiting its search-reliant Commerce business in an apparent acknowledgement of Google Zero, despite Sundar Pichai's rebuttals. Now it's shrinking, noting "70 percent of our business has some degree of traffic sensitivity," while going all-in on AI with a push to use Enterprise ChatGPT, gen-AI site search, an AI paywall, and other products.

Business Insider cuts 21% of workforce, memo shows

May 29 (Reuters) - Business Insider is laying off about 21% of its workforce, an internal memo showed on Thursday, as the financial news outlet grapples with shrinking search traffic and the growing use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. The New York-based company joins several digital media companies in restructuring operations as consumers increasingly depend on artificial intelligence for news synopsis, which is eating into web traffic. In the memo, CEO Barbara Peng told staff the company now generates twice as much revenue for each website visit as it did two years ago, but 70% of its business still has some degree of traffic sensitivity. "We must be structured to endure extreme traffic drops outside of our control, so we're reducing our overall company to a size where we can absorb that volatility," Peng said in the memo seen by Reuters. The New York-based company is accelerating adoption of AI, with a majority of employees already utilizing Enterprise ChatGPT and several AI-driven products to enhance operations and reader experience, Peng said. The website is realigning its content strategy to concentrate on areas that attract high reader engagement, and is exiting the majority of its commerce business, Peng said. It is also launching a new events business called BI Live, Peng said, adding that it has already seen some demand and will continue to build the team. Earlier this year, Washington Post and Associated Press laid off 4% and 8% of their workforce respectively in a bid to cut costs and modernize operations. Reporting by Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Technology

Business Insider axing 21% of workforce as AI sends web search...

Business Insider is laying off about 21% of its workforce, an internal memo showed on Thursday, as the financial news outlet grapples with shrinking search traffic and the growing use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. The New York-based company joins several digital media companies in restructuring operations as consumers increasingly depend on artificial intelligence for news synopsis, which is eating into web traffic. In the memo, CEO Barbara Peng told staff the company now generates twice as much revenue for each website visit as it did two years ago, but 70% of its business still has some degree of traffic sensitivity. "We must be structured to endure extreme traffic drops outside of our control, so we're reducing our overall company to a size where we can absorb that volatility," Peng said in the memo seen by Reuters. The New York-based company is accelerating adoption of AI, with a majority of employees already utilizing Enterprise ChatGPT and several AI-driven products to enhance operations and reader experience, Peng said. The website is realigning its content strategy to concentrate on areas that attract high reader engagement, and is exiting the majority of its commerce business, Peng said. It is also launching a new events business called BI Live, Peng said, adding that it has already seen some demand and will continue to build the team. Earlier this year, Washington Post and Associated Press laid off 4% and 8% of their workforce respectively in a bid to cut costs and modernize operations.

Business Insider to lay off 21% of staff, will fully embrace AI and invest in events By Investing.com

Investing.com -- Business Insider, owned by Axel Springer, is set to lay off approximately 21% of its workforce, according to a recent memo from CEO Barbara Peng. This decision is part of the company's strategic shift that was initiated a year and a half ago. The layoff will affect every department within the company. The company aims to transform its focus from a broad approach to a more specific business, tech, and innovation journalism. This transformation is in line with the company's return to its roots as Business Insider, a shift that has been underway since last year. The layoffs are part of a broader strategic shift that the company has been implementing over the past year and a half. The company aims to serve a specific audience with best-in-class business, tech, and innovation journalism. Since the return to its original name, Business Insider, the company has been working towards this new focus. Jamie Heller, who joined as Editor-in-Chief at the end of last year, has led the company towards more authoritative reporting that matters deeply to its readers. The company has doubled its original reporting and seen a significant increase in engagement over the past few months. The company is also reducing its reliance on traffic-sensitive businesses, like commerce, and is planning to invest more in live journalism events under the brand BI Live. The move comes as the media industry grapples with unstable distribution, intense competition for attention, and business models under pressure. The company is also fully embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in its operations. Over 70% of Business Insider employees are already using Enterprise ChatGPT regularly, with the company aiming for 100% usage. The company has launched multiple AI-driven products to better serve its audience and is exploring how AI can boost operations across shared services. The company's strategy is to endure extreme traffic drops outside of its control by reducing its size. This decision is also driven by the company's need to exit the majority of its Commerce business, which relies heavily on search traffic. The company's new live journalism events business, BI Live, is a space where the company can showcase its journalism, connect directly with its audience, and build a strong portfolio of experiences. The company has already seen demand for this new venture, brought on key leaders, and will continue to build the team. The company is also fully embracing AI as part of its strategic shift. Over 70% of Business Insider employees are already using Enterprise ChatGPT regularly, and the company is building prompt libraries and sharing everyday use cases that help the team work faster, smarter, and better. In the past year, the company has launched multiple AI-driven products to better serve its audience, and it has new products set to launch in the coming months. The company is also exploring how AI can boost operations across shared services, helping it scale and operate more efficiently.