Consumer Concerns Growing Over AI Copying Local News Stories (New Report)

Perhaps it’s reassuring that the concerns about AI stealing the work of journalists is shared by those outside the journalism industry. 

More than three-quarters of consumers (76%) say they’re concerned about AI stealing or reproducing local news stories, with half (51%) telling OnMessage Inc. they’re “very concerned.”

 

Do We Need Humanlike AI? Experts Say It Depends

Given the growing concerns over anthropomorphic AI, we asked our panel to react to the following provocation: Responsible AI governance requires questioning the necessity of overly humanlike agentic AI systems. Nearly 80% of our panelists agree or strongly agree with the statement, arguing that responsible AI governance is not just about how a technology is designed or deployed but also about when it should be deployed. 

 

Holiday Shoppers Using AI Are Open To Buy Through It

Nearly four in 10 consumers participating in the 2025 Holiday Shopping Report from First Insight note they intend to use AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude to assist in their holiday shopping, and 68% of them plan to go from browsing to buying directly within the platform — compared with 42% of shoppers who plan to do the same on social media.

 

The Small Business Holiday Outlook 2025: Your Guide to Winning the Make-or-Break Season

When it comes to getting the word out and driving action, our report confirms where you need to focus your limited marketing budget. Nearly 40% of SMBs told us social media marketing is the most impactful channel for holiday marketing. This significantly outweighs email marketing (18%).