The Future of Publishing Belongs to the Builders

AI is already reshaping the publishing business – not next year, not someday, but right now.
And for all the noise about risk, what’s struck me most in conversations lately isn’t the fear. It’s the ambition.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been on a bit of a listening tour – presenting our Intelligent Alerts results with The Weather Company at Beeler Basecamp, meeting with peers across media and RevOps, and spending time at Dreamforce.

Every conversation circles back to the same truth:
AI isn’t a savior or a threat. It’s a tool.
And like any tool, its impact depends on how – and how boldly – we use it.

Across the industry, I’m seeing teams use AI not to replace people, but to empower them – to catch revenue leaks before they compound, to break down silos between data and sales, to move faster with the same headcount. These aren’t future goals. They’re happening right now, driving measurable top- and bottom-line impact.

In Savannah, a RevOps leader at Beeler Basecamp talked about rethinking their business as a “utility” for their audience – delivering products that provide tangible, repeatable value every day. At Dreamforce, a marketing expert described a similar shift: moving from campaign metrics to audience utility as the true measure of success.

That’s the mindset shift this moment calls for.

• Running better businesses through smarter capital allocation
• Breaking down organizational silos that slow innovation
• Turning audience insights into products that create real utility

That’s what excites me about the work we’re doing at Switchboard. Our mission is to create AI that publishers can use right now – not hype, not someday – to make faster, smarter, revenue-driving decisions.

Yes, the threats to publishing are real. They always have been.
But this industry has never been defined by the threats. It’s defined by the builders.

So to all the RevOps, data, and revenue leaders out there – this is your moment.
The future of publishing is being built right now, by people who aren’t waiting for permission to reinvent it.

What’s one bold step your team is taking to future-proof your business?