Deadline: December 3, 2025
The Google News Initiative JournalismAI Innovation Challenge 2025 invites small and medium-sized news publishers worldwide to explore and experiment with artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in journalism. This nine-month program is designed to accelerate innovation in the media industry, enabling publishers to strengthen their audience engagement and revenue growth through the creative use of AI.
About the Google News Initiative JournalismAI Innovation Challenge 2025
The Google News Initiative (GNI), in collaboration with Polis, the journalism think-tank at the London School of Economics and Political Science, launched the JournalismAI Innovation Challenge 2025 to empower newsrooms with resources and technical support for AI-driven projects. This edition of the challenge focuses on helping small and medium-sized publishers develop and deploy innovative AI solutions that enhance audience intelligence and promote sustainable business growth.
The program provides selected participants with funding, mentorship, and collaboration opportunities across global media ecosystems. It is not aimed at content production or fact-checking projects but specifically at initiatives that use AI to improve newsroom efficiency, audience insights, and revenue strategies.
Programme Details
- Program Duration: Nine months
- Application Deadline: December 3, 2025
- Funding Available:
- 8 projects will receive up to USD 50,000 each
- 4 projects will receive up to USD 100,000 each
Grantees will also gain access to expert mentorship, technical resources, and global visibility within the GNI and JournalismAI networks.
Eligibility Criteria
To qualify for the Google News Initiative JournalismAI Innovation Challenge 2025, applicants must meet the following requirements:
- Type of organization: Must be a news publisher whose core activity is journalism. Blogs, non-journalistic websites, and non-media organizations are not eligible.
- Operational history: Applicants must have been in continuous operation for at least 12 months prior to the application deadline, with a verifiable website providing journalistic content.
- Organization size: Open to small and medium-sized publishers employing between 10 and 200 staff members.
- AI readiness: Applicants should already be exploring or integrating AI technologies into their newsroom workflows.
- Geographical coverage: Eligible regions include:
- Asia Pacific: Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
- Europe: Multiple participating countries.
- Middle East & Africa: Including Kenya, Nigeria, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
- North America: United States.
- Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay.
Ineligible Applicants
The following are not eligible for the program:
- Government-owned media organizations or entities controlled by political parties.
- Publishers that previously received a grant under the first edition of the JournalismAI Innovation Challenge.
- Projects focused primarily on newsgathering, fact-checking, verification, or story reporting.
Instead, the initiative funds projects that leverage AI for audience intelligence, engagement strategies, and revenue growth.
Programme Benefits
Selected participants will receive:
- Financial support of up to USD 100,000 for project development and implementation.
- Mentorship from leading experts in AI and journalism innovation.
- Networking opportunities through collaboration with other grantees and the global JournalismAI community.
- Visibility and recognition through GNI and Polis platforms.
Why the Initiative Matters
The JournalismAI Innovation Challenge provides a transformative opportunity for emerging and established news organizations to pioneer AI-powered strategies in journalism. By supporting publishers to experiment with technologies such as natural language processing, audience analytics, and content personalization, the initiative aims to make journalism more sustainable, inclusive, and data-driven.
Publishers in regions such as Africa, including Nigeria, stand to benefit immensely from this program, leveraging AI to address unique newsroom challenges, deepen audience engagement, and improve revenue diversification.
How to Apply
Interested publishers are encouraged to prepare a detailed proposal highlighting how their project aligns with the challenge objectives—focusing on audience intelligence and revenue growth through AI. Applications must clearly define:
- The AI technology or innovation being tested.
- Expected impact on audience and business metrics.
- A clear nine-month implementation plan.
- A commitment to share insights and learnings with the wider media community.
Application Deadline
All applications must be submitted by December 3, 2025.
👉 Click here to Apply for the Google News Initiative JournalismAI Innovation Challenge 2025
👉 Read more about the Programme
Contact us for proposal drafting, refining, and review.
