AP, AppliedXL to deliver AI-powered news tips to local newsrooms

The Associated Press and AppliedXL announced today a collaboration to provide AI-powered local news tips and advisories on health, energy and environment issues to AP member newsrooms in an effort to enhance local journalism.

Leveraging AppliedXL’s autonomous news gathering technology and informed by input from AP journalists, the new initiative, AP Local Lede, identifies and contextualizes the local impact of federal regulations from over 430 agencies, highlighting how government actions affect communities and businesses across all 50 states.

AppliedXL’s technology emulates the rigorous research workflow processes of newsrooms. The system is powered by algorithms that analyze data from trusted public sources, provide context, and perform programmatic data validation and self-checks, all with human oversight to mitigate AI risks.

“We are pleased to be using AI in this new way to deliver timely and accurate news tips to local news organizations,” said Troy Thibodeaux, AP director of AI products and services. “Our goal in deploying AI is to help expand the reach of our journalism and provide our members and customers with tools that enhance their own reporting.”

AP is piloting AP Local Lede with an initial cohort of member news organizations, with plans to expand the group in the coming months. These outlets receive localized news insights at the county, state or regional level. Topics include developments in renewable energy, critical infrastructure projects, economic growth, environmental protection efforts and health care policy changes, among others.

“AP has been a pioneer in the development and implementation of AI and represents the gold standard for news innovation. By integrating AP’s journalistic principles into our AI agents, we can make these systems reliable and transparent, and as a result, build trust with AP customers who receive these insights,” said Francesco Marconi, CEO of AppliedXL.

AppliedXL, founded by computational journalists who previously worked at both The Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal, powers real-time professional information for other global firms like Bloomberg, as well as leading financial institutions and Fortune 100 companies.  AppliedXL monitors emerging risks across critical industries like healthcare, life sciences, energy, and infrastructure, specializing in sectors with strict regulations, high complexity, and uneven access to information.

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