Media Briefing: Overheard from publishers at Digiday London Media Strategies Town Hall

Digiday's London Media Strategies Town Hall discussed new ways publishers can measure audience value and adapt to AI's impact on media consumption. Executives examined the risks of blocking AI crawlers, the economics of licensing content to large language models (LLMs), and the readiness of agentic media trading for real-world use.

One executive questioned whether metrics should focus on individual visitors rather than page views, proposing a combined metric of unique users, subscriber percentage, dwell time, and conversions. Another noted the challenge of translating this combined metric into something understandable for editorial teams.

Publishers are struggling to decide how to respond to audience performance and translate that performance into actionable steps. Establishing a shared definition of engagement, whether called attention or engagement, would help agencies and clients compare these metrics.

Concerns about discoverability emerged, especially with the potential impact of blocking AI crawlers on brand awareness. While short-term risks exist, some believe restricting access could create scarcity and establish a market for content. However, the size of this market remains uncertain.

A growing concern is the challenge of distinguishing between bad actors and legitimate bots. Accidentally blocking legitimate bots has occurred due to insufficient transparency and adherence to best practices. Publishers need to ensure that legitimate bots are transparent and follow proper practices to avoid issues.

The potential impact of the New York Times' lawsuit against OpenAI on the value exchange for AI-generated content is a topic of interest. If the lawsuit proceeds, it may create a significant shift in the market. Publishers are also exploring the potential ROI from licensing deals with LLMs, although current click-through rates are minimal, and traffic generated is limited.