The Atlantic fixed its business. Then AI came for media.
Atlantic CEO Nicholas Thompson talks about his OpenAI deal, his billionaire owner, and why he makes his own videos
The Atlantic, a magazine once struggling and in financial decline, has recently turned its fortunes around under the leadership of Nicholas Thompson. Thompson joined the magazine in 2021, at a time when it was bleeding money and downsizing its staff. Today, The Atlantic is not only profitable but also boasts 1.6 million subscribers and annual revenue exceeding $100 million.
Thompson's success can be attributed to his deep industry experience as an editor at Wired and The New Yorker, as well as his ability to create revenue-generating content separate from the magazine's editorial staff.
In 2024, The Atlantic entered into a partnership with OpenAI, a leading artificial intelligence company. Thompson sees this collaboration as beneficial for the magazine, although it has not led to a breakthrough product for the general public. To protect Atlantic's interests, the partnership includes specific boundaries regarding summarization, quoting, and model training, ensuring that the AI system is less likely to replace human journalism.
Despite the partnership with OpenAI, The Atlantic has not observed a significant increase in traffic from AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT or Claude. This lack of traffic from AI bots has surprised Thompson and other industry professionals, as they had expected AI to drive more users to the website. One possible explanation is that people using AI bots are seeking different types of information and do not end up visiting traditional websites for their needs.
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