Business

A High Court judge has ruled that thousands of people affected by a major data breach at Capita can continue with their legal action against the outsourcing group, in a decision being described as a landmark for large-scale data privacy claims in the UK.

In a judgment handed down on 9 February, Master Dagnall rejected arguments from Capita’s legal team that solicitors acting for more than 8,000 claimants had abused the court process. Capita had claimed that the use of repetitive or generic descriptions of mental distress following the 2023 cyber attack undermined the validity of the claims.

The ruling allows the case, brought by Barings Law, to proceed and is likely to be closely watched by companies, regulators and claimant law firms involved in data protection litigation.

Barings launched the action in 2023 after a cyber attack exposed the personal data of around 6.6 million individuals, including Capita employees. The compromised information is understood to include sensitive financial and pension details.

Capita’s lawyers had applied to have the claims struck out, alleging that Barings improperly influenced evidence relating to claimants’ anxiety and psychological distress following the breach. However, Master Dagnall concluded that Capita had failed to demonstrate that any abuse of process had occurred.

In his judgment, the judge said solicitors had a “real basis” and were entitled to a “wide latitude” when preparing evidence in cases involving large numbers of claimants. He also noted that clients had given informed consent to Barings to act on their behalf. Striking out the claims, he added, would have been a “draconian step”.

Adnan Malik, head of data protection at Barings Law, said the decision was a significant victory for those affected. “From day one this case has centred on the rights of ordinary individuals against a major corporation which catastrophically failed to protect their privacy,” he said.

“For Capita to attempt to play down the seriousness of the impact was wrong, and today’s judgment affirms that the welfare of data breach victims is being taken seriously by the courts.”

Robert Whitehead, chairman of Barings Law, said the ruling reinforced the firm’s commitment to pursuing accountability in large-scale privacy cases. “Capita has played fast and loose with its customers’ data, and that has had an inevitable impact on the health and wellbeing of those affected,” he said. “We see today’s decision as a vindication of our claimants’ rights and an important signal for future data breach cases.”

While the ruling does not determine whether claimants will ultimately succeed, it clears a major procedural hurdle. The court said substantive questions around the extent of harm suffered by victims will be examined at a later trial, as the case against Capita now moves to its next phase.

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High Court clears way for thousands to pursue Capita data breach claims

Royal Mail has urged small and medium-sized businesses to apply for its £1 million apprenticeship levy fund during National Apprenticeship Week (9–15 February), as it steps up efforts to help address skills shortages across the SME sector.

Applications are open for the second round of the fund, which is available to businesses with up to 250 employees that sell products online. The funding can be used for any government-accredited apprenticeship, spanning areas from industry-specific roles to digital marketing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence and finance.

The initiative forms part of Royal Mail Means Business, a wider campaign designed to champion SMEs and support their growth. The second £1 million funding round was launched in September following the success of the first, which was introduced after joint research by Royal Mail and the British Chambers of Commerce identified skills gaps as one of the biggest barriers facing growing businesses.

To date, Royal Mail has supported apprenticeships across a wide range of disciplines, including marketing, HR, software development and data analytics.

Under current rules, companies with an annual wage bill of £3 million or more are required to pay the apprenticeship levy. As one of the UK’s largest levy-paying employers, Royal Mail has chosen to gift a portion of its levy to smaller firms, reflecting what it describes as its unique role in supporting businesses nationwide. As the UK’s universal service provider, Royal Mail delivers to all 32 million addresses across the country.

Applications for the latest funding round are now open via the Royal Mail Small Business Hub.

Kieran Judd, interim chief people officer at Royal Mail, said National Apprenticeship Week was an ideal moment to remind SMEs of the support available. “Apprenticeships don’t just train individuals; they strengthen entire businesses by developing talent from within,” he said.

“We know many smaller businesses want to invest in new skills but lack the resources to do so. By gifting part of our levy, we’re helping to close that gap and give SMEs access to the same high-quality training opportunities as larger organisations. We’re proud to support the growth of the UK’s SME community.”

One company already benefiting from the scheme is Withnell Sensors, a Lancashire-based specialist in temperature and humidity solutions, including vaccine fridges and ultra-low freezers. The business has received funding for a Level 3 laboratory technician apprenticeship.

Samantha Smith, managing director at Withnell Sensors, said apprenticeships provided a vital route into the business. “It’s rare that we can recruit employees with directly relevant experience, so the apprenticeship scheme allows us to combine in-house training with formally recognised qualifications,” she said.

“This has added capacity to our team, helping us maintain turnaround times for customers while enabling senior staff to focus on expanding our accreditation and serving customers in new international markets.”

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Royal Mail urges SMEs to tap £1m apprenticeship fund during National Apprenticeship Week

The business secretary, Peter Kyle, has urged small businesses to rediscover Britain’s exporting spirit, calling on entrepreneurs to take a “leap of faith” and start selling overseas with the backing of government finance and advice.

Speaking to an audience of small business owners at the UK Trade and Export Finance Forum in London last week, Kyle warned that the UK was losing momentum as an exporting nation. Official figures show that the proportion of UK companies that have ever exported has fallen from 45 per cent to 38 per cent in recent years.

Kyle said reversing that trend was a priority for the government, arguing that international demand for British goods and services remains strong. Drawing on recent visits to China, Japan and the World Economic Forum in Davos, he told delegates there was a “great thirst for Britain”.

“I accept that exporting for the first time is different, it’s difficult and it’s novel,” he said. “Anything that’s novel takes a bit of getting used to and a bit of confidence and enthusiasm to jump into. Sometimes it takes a leap of faith.”

Kyle suggested many SMEs underestimate both the level of overseas demand and the support available to help them expand internationally. He pointed to the £11 billion trade finance lending package announced at the end of January, funded through the balance sheets of five major high street banks.

Under the scheme, UK Export Finance will guarantee up to 80 per cent of loans, while also providing advisory support to help businesses navigate international markets.

“I understand that the world looks intimidating at the moment,” Kyle said. “I’m not sitting here saying everything’s perfect. But what investors are seeing is the right direction of travel.”

However, business groups warned that encouragement alone would not be enough. Tina McKenzie, policy chair at the Federation of Small Businesses, said many small firms were willing to take the risk of exporting — but only if the government improved its offer.

“Small businesses need clear, practical help to navigate trade rules, paperwork and market access, particularly when trading with the EU and beyond,” she said. “If we want more firms to export, policy needs to make it simpler, cheaper and more predictable, so businesses can take that step with confidence rather than crossing their fingers.”

On stage, Kyle highlighted four trade agreements signed since the government took office, with India, China, the US and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, arguing they provided a foundation of stability. But he acknowledged that signing deals was only the beginning.

“It takes time to get goods flowing and services delivered,” he said. “And it takes a while to get the legal aspects nailed down so the agreements can be fully enforced.”

Some business leaders questioned how much smaller firms would really benefit. Simon Holloway, commercial director at Dynisma, a Bristol-based developer of simulators for Formula 1 drivers, said the complexity of trade deals often left SMEs struggling to engage.

“We don’t have time to figure out what is going on,” he said. “We’re running 100 miles an hour trying to scale our businesses and secure jobs.”

Tim Reid, chief executive of UK Export Finance, accepted that awareness remained a challenge. “Small businesses are good with ideas, but short on time,” he said. “We need to make it as easy as possible for them.”

Despite the obstacles, Kyle argued that periods of uncertainty could also create opportunity. “Be bold and confident in yourself, your skills and fundamentally the products and services your business offers,” he said.

Some companies are already doing just that. Urban Apothecary, a Leicester-based home fragrance brand, now sells into 35 countries. Liz Ripley, its head of global partnerships, said using distributors had helped the business manage risk, with support from the Department for Business and Trade helping it enter new markets such as South Korea.

Paul Sopher, director at Joe & Seph’s, which exports its artisan popcorn from north London to 19 countries, said the department had also been a useful sounding board when assessing new overseas customers.

Kyle ended with a clear message for hesitant entrepreneurs: “I want to see more start-ups and scale-ups taking risks, building up, branching out and breaking into new markets, backed up by government action.”

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‘Thirst for Britain’: Peter Kyle urges SMEs to take leap into exporting

Training workers to use artificial intelligence will be “critical” to managing disruption in the UK labour market, according to Andrew Bailey, who said there were already signs that AI was reshaping careers and hiring patterns.

Speaking at a conference in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Bailey said the long-term impact of AI on employment remained “highly uncertain”, but warned that early indicators pointed to meaningful change.

“In the UK, in the last three years, new online vacancies in the most AI-exposed roles have decreased by more than twice as much as in the least exposed group,” he said.

“On the positive side, however, there has been a significant increase in new tasks, such as integrating AI tools into firms’ workflow processes.”

Bailey cautioned against drawing simplistic conclusions about the effect of AI on jobs, stressing that education and reskilling would be central to ensuring workers were not left behind. “Education and training in AI skills will be critical,” he said. “We shouldn’t resort to oversimplified conclusions on the employment effects.”

His comments came at the end of a volatile week for global markets, during which renewed anxiety over artificial intelligence wiped more than $1 trillion off the combined value of the world’s largest technology and software companies.

Investor nerves were rattled in part by new product launches from Anthropic, one of the world’s leading AI developers. The company unveiled tools aimed at automating legal work such as contract review, alongside its latest Claude Opus 4.6 model, which is capable of analysing complex information and producing presentations and spreadsheets.

The developments fuelled fears about job displacement and business model disruption, triggering sharp share price falls among UK-listed companies seen as highly exposed to AI. These included RELX, London Stock Exchange Group, and Sage.

At the same time, concerns grew that enthusiasm for AI may have run ahead of reality in the US technology sector. Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft have collectively committed to spending around $660 billion this year on data centres and advanced computer chips to support AI development.

Fears that such vast capital investment may not deliver sufficient returns have weighed on share prices, adding to wider market turbulence. The pullback follows years of strong gains in US technology stocks, driven by investor optimism about AI-led productivity gains, optimism that has also raised concerns about a potential bubble.

Bailey said there were signs of “fear of missing out” in markets, reinforced by claims that AI represents a structural break from previous technology cycles. “We have seen arguments along the lines of ‘this time is different’, for instance because of the expected productivity benefits of AI,” he said.

He warned that this narrative risked complacency among investors and policymakers alike. “Expectations of AI-driven productivity gains could be disappointed,” he said.

Despite the caution, Bailey struck a broadly optimistic note on the long-term economic potential of AI and robotics. He said he believed the technologies could boost productivity and growth by automating repetitive tasks and creating entirely new types of work.

However, he added that the transition would not be painless. “Some industries might shrink, others grow, and affected workers will need to retrain to adapt their skills,” he said, underlining once again that investment in training would be decisive in shaping the future of the UK jobs market.

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Andrew Bailey warns AI training is critical to future of UK jobs

Ocado is preparing plans that could see up to 1,000 jobs cut as part of a renewed effort to rein in costs, following a difficult year for its automated warehouse technology business.

Up to 5 per cent of the group’s global workforce could be affected, according to people familiar with the discussions, although talks remain at an early stage and no final decision has been taken. An announcement could come as soon as this month.

The majority of redundancies are expected to fall at Ocado’s UK head office, with technology roles likely to be among those affected alongside back-office functions such as legal, finance and human resources.

The proposed cuts come ahead of Ocado’s full-year results on 26 February, after the group reiterated last month that it was targeting positive cashflow in the next financial year, “underpinned by rigorous cost and capital discipline”.

Last year, Ocado said it would cut around 500 roles in technology and finance as it scaled back research and development spending. That followed around 1,000 redundancies across the group in 2023 and 2024.

Founded in 2000 by three former Goldman Sachs bankers, Ocado has built its business around selling robot-operated warehouse systems to global grocery chains, alongside its online grocery joint venture with Marks & Spencer.

However, investor confidence has been shaken after two major North American partners announced plans to close a number of Ocado’s automated warehouses, known as customer fulfilment centres (CFCs), citing concerns over costs and efficiency.

Shares in the FTSE 250 group have fallen by almost a third over the past year. In November, US supermarket giant Kroger said it would close three CFCs, a move that briefly pushed Ocado’s share price back towards the 180p level at which it floated in 2010.

That was followed late last month by Sobeys, which announced plans to shut a CFC in Calgary, Alberta, pointing to slower-than-expected growth in online grocery shopping and the limited size of the regional market.

Although Ocado is set to receive hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation linked to the closures, analysts have warned that the setbacks could undermine its ability to secure new international partnerships. Mutual exclusivity agreements with most retail partners expired in December, raising questions about the long-term pipeline for its technology.

Tim Steiner, Ocado’s founder and chief executive, has previously described the company as the “Tesla of grocery”. Despite its technological ambitions, the group has yet to turn a profit. Pre-tax losses narrowed slightly last year to £374.5 million, from £393.6 million in 2024.

In a statement, Ocado said: “We regularly review our operations to ensure we’re set up for long-term success. If and when decisions are made that affect our people, we are committed to communicating with them directly and ensuring they are supported throughout.”

The coming weeks are likely to be closely watched by investors and staff alike as Ocado seeks to stabilise its business and prove it can translate cutting-edge automation into sustainable financial returns.

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Ocado considers up to 1,000 job cuts in renewed cost-cutting drive

Tesco is pressing ahead with a major expansion of its convenience estate after buying a number of former Amazon Fresh stores in London.

Britain’s largest supermarket group plans to open more than 70 new Tesco Express outlets by March 2027, building on the 60 convenience stores it opened last year. The retailer already operates just over 2,000 convenience shops across the UK and Ireland as it seeks to capture a greater share of everyday, top-up spending.

Tesco has acquired five ex-Amazon Fresh locations in London, on Kensington High Street, in Hounslow, Moorgate, Aldgate East and Wembley, following the US technology group’s decision to retreat from its short-lived bricks-and-mortar grocery experiment in the UK. The sites are expected to reopen as Tesco Express stores before the summer.

Further Express openings are planned across a wide geographic spread, from Bickington in Devon and Pontrhydyrun in Torfaen to Strabane in Co Tyrone and Wallyford in East Lothian, underlining the retailer’s ambition to deepen its presence in both urban and regional communities.

Alongside its convenience push, Tesco is continuing to invest in larger-format stores. After opening new superstores in Ripon and Harrogate late last year, it plans to launch two more in Scotland in 2026, in Pitlochry, Perth and Kinross, and the Heartlands development in West Lothian.

Nick Johnson, Tesco’s group property director, said the expansion would allow the grocer to serve “even more people, in even more communities”. Tesco operates more than 7,000 stores worldwide.

The move reflects an intensifying land grab across the grocery sector, with convenience retail, estimated to be worth £48.8 billion in the UK, emerging as one of the few consistent growth areas. Time-poor shoppers are increasingly favouring smaller, more frequent local trips over traditional weekly supermarket shops.

Tesco’s rivals are moving aggressively. Asda is accelerating its convenience rollout and is targeting 300 Express-format stores by the end of this year. Waitrose has committed £1 billion to open around 100 convenience outlets over the next five years.

Morrisons plans to add a further 250 Morrisons Daily stores this year, focusing on the south of England and the Midlands, while Sainsbury’s continues to open around 20 to 25 Local stores annually under its “next level” strategy.

The rapid expansion by supermarket giants is putting increasing pressure on independent retailers. Convenience store owners warn that the scale, buying power and promotional strength of supermarket-owned chains are driving up rents and intensifying competition, accelerating the decline of traditional corner shops on Britain’s high streets.

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Tesco snaps up former Amazon Fresh sites as convenience push gathers pace

The growing use of weight-loss injections could dent demand for sausage rolls and pastries at Greggs, potentially depriving the bakery chain of some of its most lucrative customers, according to City analysts.

The warning comes as Greggs continues to grapple with slower sales growth since mid-2024, a period that has prompted investor speculation over whether the UK has reached “peak Greggs”. The company has attributed its softer performance to fragile consumer confidence and last summer’s unusually hot weather, which reduced footfall, while some shareholders have questioned whether its rapid store expansion has begun to cannibalise like-for-like sales.

Analysts at Jefferies have now added another potential headwind: the rising popularity of weight-loss drugs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy. In a note to clients, the broker said the trend could represent an “enduring challenge” for Greggs and weigh on its longer-term growth prospects.

The drugs work by mimicking the GLP-1 hormone, which suppresses appetite and increases feelings of fullness. Jefferies pointed to US research suggesting that users of such treatments tend to cut back particularly on high-calorie, ultra-processed savoury foods, a category that includes many of Greggs’ core products.

The analysts estimate that as many as four million people in the UK may now be using weight-loss jabs, equivalent to around 7.5 per cent of the adult population.

“It may only be 10 per cent of GLP-1 users that would shop at Greggs,” the Jefferies team said. “But that 10 per cent would be high-BMI individuals consuming lots of calories and, we would infer, likely some of Greggs’ best customers. Those customers could go from being among the most valuable to potentially never spending a penny with the business again.”

Roisin Currie, Greggs’ chief executive, acknowledged last month that there was “no doubt” weight-loss injections were having an impact on consumer behaviour. In response, the chain has begun expanding its healthier ranges, including products such as egg pots, to reflect shifting preferences.

Despite those efforts, Jefferies said the spread of weight-loss drugs should be seen as a “structural issue” rather than a passing trend. The broker cut its forecasts for Greggs’ like-for-like sales growth and profit margins and downgraded the stock to “hold” from “buy”, underlining the growing uncertainty facing one of Britain’s most recognisable high-street brands.

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Weight-loss jabs threaten Greggs’ growth, analysts warn

The UK government must overhaul its approach to public sector procurement if it is serious about backing British innovation, according to Justin Megawarne, managing partner at Megaslice, who has accused Whitehall of hiding behind rigid frameworks and “arbitrary scoring systems”.

Megawarne’s comments follow the decision to award Fujitsu a place on a government framework worth up to £984 million, despite the company’s central role in developing and supporting the Post Office Horizon IT system. The system led to the wrongful prosecution of 736 subpostmasters across the UK and has since become one of the most serious miscarriages of justice in modern British history.

Fujitsu had previously written to the government committing not to bid for new public contracts until the public inquiry into the Horizon scandal had concluded. Its inclusion on the framework has reignited debate about how the government selects suppliers — and whether it is doing enough to support genuine domestic innovation.

“If an organisation has performed so badly for its customers that it has become a national scandal and warranted its own TV drama, surely it’s time the government spent its money elsewhere,” Megawarne said.

“With so much public money wasted on technology that isn’t fit for purpose, and in this case fraudulently criminalised people, the budget for real innovation continues to shrink. We are failing to support the next generation of founders who are building genuinely innovative businesses, instead recycling contracts to the same organisations that have failed us before.”

Megawarne argues that government procurement processes are fundamentally flawed, relying too heavily on mechanistic evaluation tools that struggle to identify real value.

“Current approaches to adopting new technology are overcomplicated and painfully slow,” he said. “Scoring sheets don’t capture innovation. If the government actually engaged with businesses instead of keeping them at arm’s length, we could save millions of pounds currently wasted on the wrong solutions.”

Rather than relying on civil servants to assess complex and novel technologies, Megawarne believes the government should enlist independent industry leaders with proven innovation credentials.

“Let experts judge ideas using their experience and judgement, not a spreadsheet,” he said. “Yes, some will say that sounds unfair, but it dramatically increases the chances of finding a genuinely game-changing solution. You simply need to ensure those experts have no conflicts of interest.”

He added that procurement decisions are too often driven by price rather than outcomes. “Spending less on the wrong solution isn’t saving money at all. Much of what’s been invested in so far has failed to solve the day-to-day problems government departments actually face.”

Megawarne also criticised what he sees as the government’s default preference for large, established suppliers, regardless of past performance.

“The mindset is still, ‘no one ever got fired for buying IBM’,” he said. “It’s a way of avoiding responsibility. If something goes wrong, you can always point at the big name.”

In the case of Fujitsu and the Post Office Horizon system, he said the failure was neither minor nor isolated. “This wasn’t a simple error. It destroyed lives. The company apologised only when it was forced to, and repeatedly resisted compensation. Yet here we are again, awarding more public contracts.”

According to Megawarne, the same pattern plays out repeatedly across government IT spending. “Huge consultancies win major contracts, fail spectacularly, and face no real consequences. It’s a cycle of failure with zero accountability.”

At the heart of the problem, Megawarne believes, is an institutional aversion to risk.

“True innovation exists in the UK, and much of it sits with founders who are building solutions that could genuinely transform public services,” he said. “But the government is fundamentally risk-averse.”

He warned that founders are being steered down the wrong path, optimising for procurement scorecards rather than solving real problems. “They chase perfect scores on frameworks that measure the wrong things, while innovation is sidelined in favour of cost-cutting and box-ticking.”

“If the government genuinely wants to unlock British innovation,” Megawarne added, “it needs to stop prioritising spreadsheets over people, and start backing ideas that actually work.”

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UK government must end its boycott of British innovation, says Megaslice

NatWest has agreed a £2.7 billion deal to acquire Evelyn Partners in its largest corporate takeover since the banking group was rescued by taxpayers during the financial crisis, and its most significant acquisition since returning to full private ownership.

The purchase of the wealth manager from private equity firms Permira and Warburg Pincus, combined with NatWest’s existing Coutts franchise, will create the UK’s largest private banking and wealth management business. The enlarged group will oversee £127 billion of assets under management and administration.

The deal, which NatWest said would deliver annual run-rate synergies of around £100 million, raises the prospect of job losses over time, although the Evelyn Partners brand will be retained initially. Around 150,000 affluent UK families will see responsibility for their investments move under the NatWest umbrella.

Edinburgh-based NatWest beat off rival bidders including Barclays and Royal Bank of Canada to secure the acquisition, as Britain’s major lenders step up their focus on wealth management to offset an expected decline in interest income as central bank rates begin to fall. Rivals HSBC and Lloyds have already expanded their presence in the sector.

Paul Thwaite, NatWest’s chief executive, said the transaction would strengthen the bank’s ability to support savers and investors. “At a time when the benefits of saving and investing are increasingly part of the national conversation, we can help customers to make more of their money through a broader range of services, while also helping to drive growth and investment across the economy,” he said.

The acquisition is NatWest’s biggest since its ill-fated joint purchase of ABN Amro in 2008, when the group was still known as Royal Bank of Scotland. That deal contributed to a crisis that culminated in a £45.5 billion taxpayer bailout. NatWest was returned to full private ownership in May last year, after the government sold its remaining shares at an overall loss of £10.5 billion.

Evelyn Partners was put up for sale last August following the spin-out of its professional services arm to Apax Partners. Formed from the 2020 merger of Tilney and Smith & Williamson, the business employed around 2,400 people at the end of 2024 and oversaw £63 billion of client assets. It has been led since 2023 by Paul Geddes, a former Royal Bank of Scotland executive who previously oversaw the stock market listing of Direct Line.

Thwaite, 54, was appointed chief executive in February 2024 after Dame Alison Rose stepped down following a row over the closure of Nigel Farage’s Coutts bank account. He has repeatedly stressed that there is a “very high bar” for acquisitions.

Analysts expressed surprise that NatWest had emerged as the winning bidder. Benjamin Toms of RBC Capital Markets said: “We are somewhat surprised that NatWest has come out on top, given how tightly the chief executive holds the bank’s purse strings. While this may be seen as a bolt-on deal, it is potentially transformational, filling a clear gap in NatWest’s affluent wealth offering.”

Permira has owned Evelyn Partners since 2014, backing its expansion into a major wealth manager. NatWest said the transaction would be funded from existing resources and would reduce its core equity tier one capital ratio by around 130 basis points.

Since taking the helm, Thwaite has already overseen the acquisition of much of Sainsbury’s Bank and the purchase of a £2.5 billion mortgage book from Metro Bank, insisting that any deal must be both financially and strategically compelling.

The transaction comes amid a broader shake-up in the wealth management sector. Royal Bank of Canada acquired Brewin Dolphin for £1.6 billion in 2022, while US firm Raymond James bought Charles Stanley for £279 million. An initial public offering of Evelyn Partners had also been under consideration, raising questions about the health of the UK’s flotations market.

Alongside the deal announcement, NatWest unveiled a new £750 million share buyback ahead of its full-year results later this week. Shares in the bank fell around 3 per cent in early trading as investors weighed the impact of the acquisition on future capital returns.

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NatWest seals £2.7bn Evelyn Partners takeover in biggest deal since bailout

As artificial intelligence continues to redefine how information is created, summarized, and distributed, news organizations face one of the most significant structural challenges in modern media history.

Search engines increasingly rely on AI-generated responses, social platforms prioritize algorithmic summaries, and audiences often encounter journalism through fragments rather than full articles.

At the center of this transformation is Dev Pragad, President, Chief Executive Officer, and co-owner of Newsweek, who has emerged as one of the most outspoken media leaders addressing the long-term implications of AI on journalism. Rather than framing artificial intelligence as a short-term disruption, Pragad has described it as a permanent shift that requires publishers to rethink the foundations of their business models.z

AI and the Changing Economics of Information

For more than two decades, digital publishing operated on a relatively stable formula: create content, rank in search engines, generate page views, and monetize traffic through advertising. Artificial intelligence has begun to destabilize that system.

AI-powered interfaces now summarize news events, answer complex questions, and extract insights directly from publisher content—often without directing users back to the source. This development has intensified concerns across the media industry about declining referral traffic and diminishing visibility.

According to Pragad, this trend signals the end of an era in which traffic alone could serve as the primary indicator of success. Instead, publishers must now prepare for a future in which distribution is increasingly mediated by AI systems rather than traditional search results.

He has noted that while AI tools rely heavily on journalism as a source of information, the value exchange between platforms and publishers remains uncertain. This imbalance has prompted Newsweek to focus on resilience rather than dependency.

From Traffic Optimization to Structural Resilience

Under Dev Pragad’s leadership, Newsweek has gradually shifted its internal priorities away from pure traffic maximization toward what he describes as organizational resilience.

The goal is not to eliminate traffic as a metric, but to ensure that the business remains sustainable even as traffic becomes less predictable.

This philosophy represents a notable departure from earlier digital media strategies that prioritized viral reach and search dominance above all else.

AI as Both Threat and Catalyst

While artificial intelligence presents clear risks to publishers, Pragad has also characterized it as a catalyst for overdue change within the media industry.

In his public commentary, he has emphasized that journalism has long been overly dependent on intermediaries—search engines, social networks, and aggregators—that control distribution but not content creation. AI, in this view, merely accelerates a dynamic that already existed.

Rather than attempting to outcompete AI systems directly, Newsweek’s strategy has been to focus on what AI cannot easily replicate:

original reporting
expert interviews
verified data-driven rankings
long-form analysis
video and visual storytelling

By investing in these areas, the organization aims to preserve relevance even as automated summaries become more prevalent.

Developing AI-Resistant Content Formats

One area of focus under Pragad has been the expansion of editorial formats that resist commoditization.

For example, structured research projects and rankings require proprietary datasets, methodological transparency, and editorial oversight—elements that are difficult for generative systems to reproduce independently. These formats also serve dual purposes: reinforcing editorial authority while supporting diversified revenue streams.

Similarly, Newsweek has increased its investment in video programming, which plays a growing role in how audiences engage with news across platforms. Video interviews, panel discussions, and explainers maintain context and nuance that text-based AI summaries often lack.

In an AI-mediated environment, such formats help anchor content to the originating brand rather than allowing it to dissolve into anonymous information.

Revenue Diversification in the AI Era

A central theme of Newsweek’s AI resilience strategy has been the diversification of revenue sources.

Historically, programmatic advertising accounted for a large share of digital publisher income. However, fluctuating traffic patterns and declining ad yields have exposed the vulnerabilities of that model.

Under Pragad’s leadership, Newsweek has pursued revenue streams that are less sensitive to algorithmic shifts. These initiatives are designed to ensure that financial stability does not depend exclusively on how AI systems choose to surface content.

By broadening its commercial foundation, Newsweek aims to maintain editorial independence even as external platforms evolve.

Brand Identity in an AI-Fragmented Landscape

Another dimension of AI resilience involves brand visibility. As news increasingly appears in partial or summarized form, recognition becomes more difficult.

Pragad has argued that strong brand identity functions as a signal of trust in environments where users may not encounter full articles or traditional layouts. This belief informed Newsweek’s recent redesign, which sought to unify typography, visuals, and editorial tone across formats.

The objective was not aesthetic modernization alone, but strategic clarity: ensuring that when Newsweek content appears within AI-generated environments, social feeds, or multimedia platforms, it remains identifiable.

In an era of fragmentary consumption, brand coherence becomes a form of editorial defense.

Editorial Trust in the Age of Synthetic Content

The proliferation of AI-generated text has intensified concerns around misinformation and authenticity. In response, Pragad has emphasized the importance of transparency, sourcing, and accountability.

As synthetic content becomes easier to produce at scale, established news organizations face renewed responsibility to differentiate verified journalism from automated narratives.

Newsweek’s editorial framework under Pragad stresses the role of human judgment, fact-checking, and institutional oversight—elements that AI systems depend on but cannot independently guarantee.

In this context, trust becomes not only an ethical imperative but a competitive advantage.

Leadership Perspective on AI Regulation and Collaboration

While public debate continues around AI regulation, Pragad has advocated for dialogue between technology companies and publishers rather than unilateral solutions.

He has suggested that sustainable information ecosystems will require clearer frameworks governing attribution, licensing, and value sharing between AI platforms and content creators.

Although no single regulatory model has yet emerged, Pragad has positioned Newsweek to remain adaptable regardless of outcome—another reflection of the organization’s resilience-first mindset.

What Dev Pragad’s Strategy Signals for the Industry

The approach taken by Dev Pragad offers broader insight into how media organizations might navigate AI disruption.

Rather than relying on short-term defensive measures, his strategy emphasizes:

long-term adaptability
diversified economic foundations
brand-centered distribution
editorial credibility as infrastructure

This model does not eliminate the challenges posed by artificial intelligence, but it reduces existential risk by ensuring that journalism’s value extends beyond raw traffic.

Conclusion

As artificial intelligence reshapes the flow of global information, the decisions made by media leaders today will influence the future of journalism for decades.

Through a focus on resilience, diversification, and editorial trust, Dev Pragad has positioned Newsweek to confront these changes with strategic clarity rather than reactionary fear.

In an age when information increasingly travels through automated systems, his approach highlights a central truth: while technology may transform distribution, the enduring value of journalism lies in credibility, context, and human judgment.

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Dev Pragad and Newsweek’s Strategy for Building AI Resilience in Modern Journalism