India has seen a massive shift towards AI-generated and social media for news consumption, which is “supercharging a fragmented alternative media environment”, the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2025 stated. 

According to the study, interest in AI personalisation is highest for quicker and more relevant news content. Specifically, 27% of respondents prefer summarised articles, and 24% prefer translations.

Notably, about 7% of people worldwide and 15% of the Gen Z population use AI chatbots for news. In India, while specific data is lacking, usage is likely rising among those aged under 25 due to the young, tech-savvy population and AI integration by platforms like Google and Microsoft.

The news industry has faced challenges with personalisation, as audiences worry about missing essential stories and enjoy content beyond their primary interests. However, generative AI revitalises the conversation by enhancing story formats and selection. 

India’s news consumption is shifting towards AI-driven, video-first formats, especially on YouTube. While AI largely operates in the background through recommendations and summarisation, front-line AI interfaces like chatbots are currently rare but are anticipated to grow.

AI-powered content personalisation algorithms are widely used today, though users may not always realise that they interact with these systems.

According to the survey, 55% of Indian respondents have increasingly used YouTube for news. Publishers and content creators have also begun using GenAI to assist in creating multilingual summaries and generating engaging headlines, captions, and voiceovers. 

However, there remains a broad distrust of AI-only news content due to concerns about authenticity and bias. The study indicates that utility-driven features such as translation or summarisation enjoy greater trust when AI is used as a support tool.

India’s diverse linguistic landscape, with over 22 official languages, requires AI models to extend beyond English and Hindi. This has led to local innovations in fine-tuning large language models through partnerships between startups, language tech platforms, and publishers.

In India, chatbots for news are still in the early stages of development and are primarily driven by platforms like WhatsApp and voice assistants. Their usage is anticipated to grow significantly among the Gen Z population in the near future.

Messaging apps like WhatsApp are generally seen as less threatening since discussions occur within trusted groups. However, in India, which is the largest market for WhatsApp, fake news has incited mob violence and resulted in deaths. 

As per the report, the overall interest in chatbots for questions is also low at 18%, likely due to their emerging nature. While few are interested in a single option, 66% are open to at least one possibility. The public is curious about how AI can enhance their news experience, even if they are unsure of what that looks like.

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