Application Deadline: December 3rd, 2025
Applications are now open for the 2025 Google News Initiative JournalismAI Innovation Challenge. The JournalismAI Innovation Challenge, supported by the Google News Initiative, is a programme to fund projects from a wide range of news publishers to foster AI literacy and implementation through targeted innovation and experimentation.
This nine-month long programme is designed by the JournalismAI team, an initiative of Polis, the journalism think-tank at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and supported by the Google News Initiative.
The programme is targeted at small and medium-sized news publishers who are already exploring the possibilities of AI technologies.
The program will support up to 12 news organisations who will use AI technologies to enhance and improve audience intelligence and revenue growth.
Here are a few examples that publishers could explore using AI for audience intelligence and revenue growth:
- Using AI to make subscriptions, memberships and donations more effective and profitable by understanding and influencing reader behaviour in real-time, e.g dynamic paywall strategies; churn prediction and prevention; personalised products or recommendations.
- Publishers could explore new B2B revenue streams through packaging unique insights and content, e.g. creating a new premium subscription-based data insight service; or using AI to mine and structure premium content and audience data.
At the end of the programme, selected organisations will share outcomes of their respective projects. They will also share best practices about using AI technologies in the news industry.
Grants will be awarded as follows:
- 8 ideas will receive US $50,000 each
- 4 ideas will receive US $100,000 each
Requirements
- Government-owned entities or entities affiliated/owned by a political party are not eligible to apply.
- Eligible applicants must have a verifiable digital presence (such as a website primarily providing journalistic content) and have been in full operation – and active with recent content – for at least 12 months preceding the call for applications
- Eligible applicants must be small and medium-sized news publishers (10-200 personnel) that are already exploring the possibilities of AI technologies.
- Eligible applicants must be able to launch, implement, and measure the impact of the grant on their organisation within a maximum nine (9) month period.
- This is not a reporting or storytelling grant and funding must not be used to report and produce stories primarily. Eligible grants should not focus on the creation of tools for newsgathering, verifying information, fact-checking, detecting misinformation or original journalism. Eligible ideas will utilise AI for audience intelligence and revenue growth.
- You are willing to share business insights and openly collaborate with other grantees, as well as track results throughout and submit a report of your performance at the end of the programme.
- Please note that only publishers whose primary focus is news publication will be considered.
- Publishers who were awarded grants as part of the first JournalismAI Innovation Challenge are not eligible to apply to this challenge.
Eligibile Countries
- Middle East and Africa: Kenya, Nigeria, Turkey, UAE.
Application Procedure:
The Programme is only open to small and medium-sized publishers (10-200 personnel) that are already exploring the possibilities of AI technologies.
Consideration will be given to projects delivered in local languages, with efforts targeted to citizens of all ages, and to projects within both urban and rural communities.
To help us review your application efficiently, please submit it in English using the provided online form. A version of the application form is available through this Google doc to help you fill the online form. Please contact us if you have any concerns about accessing the application or providing responses in English.
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the Google News Initiative JournalismAI Innovation Challenge
