Business

One year in, Business Insider’s AI search is boosting click-throughs

Published

4 hours ago

September 17, 2025

A year in, Business Insider’s AI onsite search is driving deeper engagement, though not necessarily broader adoption.

The AI search tool, which Business Insider launched in October 2024, is one of several AI-powered products developed by the company in the past year and discussed by BI CTO Harry Hope during a talk at this week’s Digiday Publishing Summit in Miami, Florida.

Although Business Insider’s AI search tool is currently only used by roughly one percent of Business Insider’s readership — Hope said that this was the percentage of readers who had used BI’s previous search tool, and that the “percentage hasn’t grown that dramatically in a year of use” — it has significantly increased the engagement of those who do use the tool, with click-through to articles increasing by 50 percent since October, per Hope.

“The goal here was to really find a way to build something that promoted journalism, not try and cover it up or paint it over with AI, right? We felt strongly that, when it comes to AI and chatbots, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution,” Hope said. “We can do creative things to actually promote the work that our journalists do day-in and day-out — and it worked quite well.”

Business Insider’s updated search tool isn’t the company’s only AI product that has grown over the past year. Consumption of BI’s AI audio briefings, which launched in June, has also grown by 20 percent month-over-month, per Hope. In addition to front-facing tools like the AI search and audio briefing, Business Insider staff have stepped up their internal use of AI, with Hope estimating that between 80 and 90 percent of staff were using AI tools — an increase from the roughly 70 percent of BI staff using AI tools in May.

“People are particularly interested in building GPTs for specific use cases. I think we have about 200 right now across our organization that people have created just for different, sometimes surprising, utilities,” said Hope, who elaborated that BI staff are using AI chatbots to simulate notes from editors or feedback from potential advertisers.

Business Insider was not the only publication that discussed AI search tools on the stage at this week’s conference. Wirecutter executive director of commerce Leilani Han said that the publication’s new AI-powered search feature had “definitely” improved click-throughs to its product recommendations, although she declined to share a specific growth figure.

Han added that Wirecutter was actively looking to optimize its content for AI search — but that it had found that the playbook for AI search optimization is not a huge shift from the playbook for traditional search optimization.

“The planning doesn’t seem to be drastically different,” she said. “For us, our focus has always been certainly the readers, and that hasn’t really changed.”

During his Publishing Summit talk, Hope acknowledged that Business Insider’s AI tools aren’t yet a significant revenue stream for the company, although BI views products such as the AI audio briefing as potential advertising or sponsorship inventory down the line. For now, Business Insider is investing in AI because it believes it will improve the company’s bottom line in the future — not because it’s a huge moneymaker in 2025.

“The ROI doesn’t look great — I’m not going to lie to you, just if you compare the dollars and cents — but we need to weigh that against where we see the future panning out, where the puck is going,” Hope said. “And part of it involves buy-in and faith from your organization that it is valuable to spend some of your resources on these tools and these technologies.”

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Business

Covecta raises $6.5m to speed up business lending with AI platform

Published

28 minutes ago

September 17, 2025

Vriti Gothi

By Vriti Gothi

Today

AI
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Digital Banking

covecta

Covecta has raised $6.5 million to expand its AI-powered platform, aiming to help banks automate workflows, accelerate lending, and free frontline staff from administrative burdens.

Despite years of digital transformation spending, commercial loan applications can still take as long as six months to process, with loan officers spending more than 150 hours on a single case. Financial institutions remain stuck managing disconnected systems from loan origination tools and CRMs to public registers and core banking platforms — forcing staff to juggle tasks that should be seamless.

Covecta’s answer is an “agentic AI” platform that sits on top of existing banking infrastructure. Instead of requiring banks to rip out legacy technology, it integrates with incumbent systems and deploys specialised AI agents that coordinate workflows across departments. The platform is available via web and desktop apps and can be deployed within weeks, offering a plug-and-play alternative to years-long tech overhauls.

The company’s first major client, Metro Bank, has already reported a 60–80% reduction in task completion times since adopting Covecta. The bank says the technology has boosted efficiency, sharpened risk analysis, and improved decision-making.

Founded by Scott Wilson, Ben Thomas, and Abdul Hummaida, Covecta’s leadership brings a mix of industry and technical expertise. Wilson previously scaled revenue at Mambu and helped expand Finastra in the U.S., Thomas spent over a decade advising banks on digital transformation at McKinsey and Accenture, while Hummaida has led AI engineering teams at AppSense and Orgvue.

Backers of the platform say its potential stretches far beyond business lending. Covecta plans to expand into asset management, wealth management, and other areas of financial services, aiming to become what it calls an “AI operating system” for the industry.

The investment marks growing confidence in AI-driven solutions that promise not just process optimisation but a rethink of how financial professionals spend their time. For banks under pressure to improve customer service and reduce costs, the question is no longer whether AI will change financial services but how quickly platforms like Covecta can scale.

FintechOS, Tech Mahindra team up to modernise banking systems

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Business

VeriPark achieves the 2025-2026 Microsoft AI Business Solutions Inner Circle award – PA Media

Published

41 minutes ago

September 17, 2025

The Editors

VeriPark achieves the 2025-2026 Microsoft AI Business Solutions Inner Circle award PA Media

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Business

DRUID AI raises $31 million Series C, appoints new CEO

Published

1 hour ago

September 17, 2025

Anca Alexe

DRUID AI, a Romanian-born technology company, today announced it has secured $31 million in Series C financing to advance the global expansion of its enterprise-ready agentic AI platform under the leadership of its new CEO Joseph Kim. The strategic investment, which will advance DRUID AI’s mission to empower companies to create, manage, and orchestrate conversational AI agents, was led by Cipio Partners, with participation from TQ Ventures, Karma Ventures, Smedvig, and Hoxton Ventures.

“This investment is both a testament to DRUID AI’s success and a catalyst to elevate businesses globally through the power of agentic AI,” said Kim. “Customer success is what it’s all about, and delivering real business outcomes requires understanding companies’ pain points and introducing innovations that help those customers address their complex challenges. That’s the DRUID AI way, and now we’re bringing it to the world through this new phase of global growth.”

Kim has more than two decades of operating executive experience in application, infrastructure, and security industries. Most recently, he was CEO of Sumo Logic. He serves on the boards of directors of SmartBear and Andela. In addition, he was a senior operating partner at private equity firm Francisco Partners, CPTO at Citrix, SolarWinds, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and chief architect at GE.

DRUID AI cofounder and Chief Operating Officer Andreea Plesea, who had been interim CEO, commented: “I am delighted Joseph is taking the reins as CEO to drive our next level of growth. His commitment to customer success and developing the exact solutions customers need is in total sync with the approach that has fueled our progress and positioned us to raise new funds. Joseph and the Series C set up DRUID AI and our clients for expanded innovation and impact.”

The appointment of Kim as CEO and the new funding come on the heels of DRUID AI earning a Challenger spot in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Conversational AI Platforms for 2025. This is just the latest development validating the maturity of DRUID AI’s platform and its readiness to deliver business results in a market that is experiencing rapid advancement and adoption.

In 2024, DRUID AI grew ARR 2.7x year-over-year. Its award-winning platform has powered more than 1 billion conversations across thousands of agents. In addition, the DRUID AI global partner ecosystem has attracted industry giants Microsoft, Genpact, Cognizant, and Accenture.

The founder of Druid AI, Liviu Dragan, had passed away unexpectedly in May 2025.

DRUID AI is trusted by more than 300 global clients across banking, financial services, government, healthcare, higher education, manufacturing, retail, and telecommunications. Leading organizations such as AXA Insurance, Carrefour, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Georgia Southern University, Kmart Australia, Liberty Global Group, MatrixCare, National Health Service, and Orange Auchan have adopted DRUID AI to redefine the way they operate.

Companies have embraced DRUID AI to help teams accelerate digital operations, reduce the complexity of day-to-day work, enhance user experience, and maximize technology ROI. Powered by advanced agentic AI and driven by the DRUID Conductor, its core orchestration engine, the DRUID platform enables businesses to effortlessly deploy AI agents and intelligent apps that streamline processes, integrate seamlessly with existing systems, and fulfill complex requests efficiently. DRUID AI’s end-to-end platform delivers 98% first response accuracy.