Why We’re Introducing Generative AI to TIME’s Journalism

Today, TIME is embarking on one of the most exciting chapters in its 101-year history. As we announced Donald Trump as the 2024 Person of the Year, we also launched TIME AI, our innovative platform developed in collaboration with Scale AI. Our hope is to redefine what it means to interact with journalism. The centerpiece of this initiative is the 2024 Person of the Year, where generative AI empowers audiences to engage with TIME’s journalism like never before.

This joint venture combines TIME’s legacy of trusted reporting with Scale’s cutting-edge technology, setting a new standard for personalized and immersive storytelling. It’s more than an experiment—it’s a pivotal step toward charting the future of journalism.

Since its inception in 1923, TIME has been synonymous with innovation. Founders Briton Hadden and Henry Luce envisioned a magazine that would synthesize complex events into digestible narratives, ensuring accessibility for busy readers. Over the decades, TIME has become a global institution, adapting to changes in media and serving new audiences.

Person of the Year, introduced in 1927, has been a hallmark of this adaptability. Each year, it offers a window into the individuals and movements shaping our world. By adding generative AI into this moment, TIME connects its past to a new future, maintaining its role as a trusted voice in an era of rapid technological change.

This year’s Person of the Year experience goes beyond the page, introducing an interactive platform that tailors content to individual readers. For the first time, audiences can experience this year’s story through customizable formats. Whether you want a concise summary, an in-depth analysis, or a personalized narrative in multiple languages, the platform ensures engagement on your terms.

Users can also revisit recent Person of the Year stories, including Taylor Swift, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Elon Musk, in new, dynamic ways. This reimagining elevates the Person of the Year beyond a story—it’s now a multi-modal, interactive journey.

Key Features of the AI-Powered Experience

At the heart of TIME AI is a suite of innovative features designed to enhance accessibility and personalization:

These features are powered by Scale AI and other strategic partnerships, such as OpenAI, announced as a partner earlier this year, which provides the chat and translation functionality, while ElevenLabs powers the conversational voice components, building on its existing integration into time.com.  Scale combined these technologies with added layers of protection, access to current events, context from past TIME articles, and more to create a dynamic reading experience for TIME readers. Together, these technologies create a platform that is both advanced and accessible.

Of the experience, Scale AI’s Chief Strategy Officer Jason Droege says, "TIME AI shows how generative AI can amplify engagement, broaden accessibility, and foster deeper connections between people and the content they consume. Partnering with TIME allowed us to provide them with the right data infrastructure to create an amazing AI experience, while also upholding rigorous safety standards.”

What’s next

This initiative represents more than technological advancement. It’s also a personal milestone. I’ve spent over 25 years in publishing, with two decades in digital media. My connection to TIME, however, runs much deeper. Growing up, TIME was ever-present in our household thanks to my father, who worked for the magazine. The weekly arrival of the new TIME came with the expectation that I was going to read it cover to cover and the annual debates about the Person of the Year were a staple of our dinner table.

Since joining TIME a year and a half ago, I’ve had the privilege of building partnerships with leaders across the AI space, exploring how this technology can transform journalism. These collaborations are exhilarating, but they also challenge us to stay true to our core mission: to be a trusted voice in a media landscape flooded with information and misinformation.

Leading the integration of AI into the Person of the Year feels like a full-circle moment—a chance to honor TIME’s legacy while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in storytelling.

The launch of TIME AI is just the beginning. As we analyze user engagement, we’ll continue to refine and expand the platform, uncovering new ways to connect with readers eager to explore the intersection of trusted journalism and responsible AI. Future advancements, already in development, will deepen the interaction between our audience and our stories.

This initiative was made possible through a cross-departmental effort at TIME, led by Chief Executive Officer Jessica Sibley, Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs and inspired by our co-owners and co-chairs Marc and Lynne Benioff, who challenged us to reimagine time.com using AI. Together with Scale AI, we’re not just embracing the possibilities of technology—we’re setting a new standard for how media and AI can intersect responsibly. As we stand at this crossroads of tradition and transformation, we’re not just imagining the future of journalism—we’re creating it.