Content automation resource library
Free, in-depth content automation resources.
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(And please give credit if you quote us.)
Are you considering automated content?
Whitepapers
News automation and how to leverage it
A good place to start is our whitepaper. Twelve pages which will give you a basic understanding of the effects news automation can have on journalism and business. How can it free up reporter time? How can it help cover underreported communities? Why is a clever distribution strategy so important? How can it help launch new sites in no-time?
Best practice for content automation in local media
Content automation can be particularly impactful for local media. This white paper goes into detail of six distinct use cases, covers how to work out your content automation strategy as well as best practice for how to get the right content to the right reader across local communities.
Practical AI for Local Media
By our partner Media Voices, 2023. This report sidesteps the myths and misconceptions surrounding AI to find out what practical applications there really are for publishers. It spotlights use cases from publishers including NTM Group, NRC Media, Stavanger Aftenblad and McClatchy.
Against the backdrop of the recent furore, we hope this report will constitute a source of steady, constructive and practical information for media companies, not least those who are at the beginning of their AI and automation journey. There is so much to be gained by taking a pragmatic approach to the topic. The lessons already learned by publishers and shared in this report is a perfect starting point.
(The report is also available as a podcast)
Publisher cases
Automation supporting the local newsroom
In this Playbook you'll learn how a local newsroom automate news reporting. Swedish Bärgslagsbladet / Arboga Tidning has five reporters and a chief editor. Thanks to robot texts they a) can cover all matches of all local sports in multiple divisions, which b) frees up reporter time to work on the journalism that really engages readers. Editor-in-Chief Helena Tell tells the story.
How geo tagged house sales boost reader revenues
Our Real Estate Playbook tells the story of Bergens Tidende in Norway, and how they set up a Home Sales vertical, populated it solely with automatically generated content (articles, maps, images, graphs) and within a couple of months had created a steady new revenue stream of new subscribers.
Reimagining sports
In the Sports Playbook you'll learn how news automation support 10 regional sports desks at Mittmedia.
By 2015, Mittmedia’s local sports journalism had dead-ended into a struggle of disjointed coverage, high freelance costs and little effect on reader engagement. This is the story of how automation helped their sports editors turn the ship around, turning sports into a driver for reader revenues.
Guides
Local sports – automated content that engages small communities (EU version)
In our local sports guide you’ll learn about best practices and get insights and guidance on how to get started with automated sports content.
You'll get to know the content, understand its value and get guidance on strategy and distribution and promotion.
Local sports – automated content that engages small communities (US version)
In our local sports guide you’ll learn about best practices and get insights and guidance on how to get started with automated sports content.
You'll get to know the content, understand its value and get guidance on strategy and distribution and promotion.
Real Estate: Achieving reach and revenue lift-off
In this guide we’ve collected best practices, insights and guidance to help publishers get started with automated real estate content. You'll get to know the automated real estate content, understand the value it can bring you and get guidance on how to nail the strategy and work out distribution and promotion.
Content-as-a-Service – we do the heavy lifting
We offer content-as-a-service, which means we build the robots and send the automatically generated content they produce straight to your CMS, sites or apps. We look after data sourcing, language, integration, support and success management. You publish the stories.
Robot Journalism is Happening Now
Automating editorial content creation is no longer a thing of the future. Our robots support newsrooms with routine reporting on sports, traffic updates, house sales, new company registrations, weather and more. Here's how.
Journalists & robots working together – the story in 1 minute
The world's newsrooms face a double challenge: Producing more relevant journalism for their readers, with fewer editorial resources. Here's how United Robots can help:
How we use NLG to turn structured data into multiple texts
We use Natural Language Generation to turn structured data into multiple texts, with different angles and aimed at different audiences.
How BT's local business journalism is boosted by automatic write-ups of companies' annual reports
Norwegian regional title BT and United Robots has co-developed a text robot which turns annual reports into easy-to-understand summaries.
Direct result: This content is extremely popular with subscribers, and 10,000 of them visit these local business stories daily.
Indirect result: The data analysis the robot does to build the stories, is used for wider stories on things like the status of female representation in top management.
How Mittmedia use robot articles to meet demand for home sales content
Swedish local media group Mittmedia analysed their online content consumption and found that demand for articles about home sales significantly outstripped supply. Our Real Estate Robot was born.
Cover all sports, always
Swedish local media group Mittmedia (some 20 news sites) decided to automate all the match reporting of all divisions of all sports.
The result: In one year, Sports went from having no real impact on the reader revenue business, to driving 30–40% of all digital subscription sales.
Why automated content has become priority for local publishers
Swedish local media group NTM have used automated content since 2016, to cover multiple local topics like house sales, company registrations, traffic and sports. In this Local Media Association webinar, Head of Editorial Development Jens Pettersson talks about the hows and whys of NTM's decision to make automated content part of their digital strategy.
Winning Robot Journalism Strategies For 2023
News automation is becoming a priority for a growing number of news publishers. Experts from both sides of the Atlantic discuss the hows and whys. Includes US local media group McClatchy, Associated Press in the US and UK's Press Association, which operates the RADAR project (Reporters And Data And Robots).
Robot journalism - Why risk it?
In the news publishing industry, there is as much concern about, as there is interest in, what is often called robot journalism. In this one-hour webinar we address the risks and fears surrounding this new technology.
Speakers are Jens Pettersson from Swedish NTM and Ard Boer from Dutch NDC – both local media companies who are using robots to expand their local coverage.
Content automation as a tool to build out local coverage
A growing number of publishers are deploying news robots to add value to their subscription offer. It’s all about providing more relevant information to more readers in local communities. This workshop is about how automated content fits into the reader revenue strategy of Swedish local media group NTM and US ditto McClatchy.
How automated annual report articles are reviving local business journalism
Local business was an underreported segment at Norwegian regional title Bergens Tidende. With the new Business robot now automating company annual reports, the publisher can suddenly cover all industries. Bonus: the business coverage is a smash hit with subscribers – 10,000 of them read this content daily.
How one newsroom robot drives significant revenue
Robot journalism supports a growing number of local newsrooms. Jan Stian Vold at Bergens Tidende in Norway discusses the quality, strategy and business of news automation at BT and how the robot has created a new revenue stream without any impact to the newsroom.
Automated journalism – Meet the publishers who advocate it
A majority of Scandinavian newsrooms now leverage robots for routine reporting. Find out why they believe in automation, how it fits into their strategy and what the daily challenges and benefits are.
How NDC will use robots to cover 60,000 local football matches
Dutch regional media group NDC is using an army of robots as it ups its game when the first post-Covid football season kicks off. Sport Project Manager Ard Boer tells the story of how and why.
How Omni provides crucial coverage with Corona Watch
In March 2020, Swedish news curation site Omni (Schibsted) deployed United Robot's news desk tool Corona Watch, helping them to stay instantly and automatically updated on news and directives from all of Sweden's regional health authorities.
How newsroom robots can boost sports reporting
It's 2020 and competitive sports have stalled. We suggest Sports desks to consider how they can super charge their reporting past-crisis. Like Swedish local media group Mittmedia had done when it deployed robot written match reports to free up reporter time. Henning Johannesson, Head of Product at United Robots, and ex Head of Sports at Mittmedia tells the story.
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Practical AI podcast special: Lessons from local media
This Practical AI podcast documentary by UK's Media Voices, explores how local media organisations have got started with AI projects, the benefits they’re seeing, the challenges they’ve faced and what advice they would give to other publishers looking to get into AI.
(April 2023)
How robot journalism is powering the modern newsroom
United Robots' Cecilia Campbell discusses AI & automation in media with Thomas Steisel at Froomle, developers of AI based personalisation tools for publishers.
(March 2023)
How robot journalism is powering the modern newsroom
Cecilia Campbell of United Robots helps myth-bust some of the common fallacies about what robot journalism can – and can’t – do.
To help illustrate what is possible we’re also joined by Ard Boer, Product Manager for Sport at NDC Mediagroep, who tells us how their sports team is making the most of robot journalism.
(September 2021)
Robojournalism – are robots taking over the newsroom?
In this episode of Designing the Robot Revolution, United Robots’ Cecilia Campbell and Mikael Törnwall at Svenska Dagbladet are interviewed about what the increase in automated content means for journalists, how readers are responding and what we can expect to see in this space over the coming years.
(May 2022)
Robots as newsroom resources
By doing the legwork on selected volume reporting, robots allow newsrooms and reporters to take time for quality journalism, featured or investigative. Leveraged right, robots are a perfect complement to reporters.
Real Estate content as revenue driver
Our automated Real Estate content boosts conversions and retention as well as CPM levels for local news publishers. Publishing the content in Home Sales verticals, they create traffic and engagement where previously there was none. And with no impact to newsroom resources.