The New York Times x AI
Project summary 🗒️
OBJECTIVE
To enhance The New York Times app by integrating AI capabilities that provide personalized and engaging user experiences.
ROLE
Product Designer
RESPONSIBILITIES
Conducted end-to-end design work, including user research, ideation, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing.
Developed AI-driven solutions such as personalized content recommendations, smarter search tools, and tailored news summaries.
Ensured these new features were seamlessly integrated into the existing NYT app, aligning with user needs while maintaining NYT’s brand identity.
IMPACT
Improved user engagement with personalized experiences.
Made it easier for users to discover relevant and new content.
Leveraged AI capabilities to indirectly improve accessibility by tailoring content and enhancing usability.
Aligning with The New York Times Mission 🎯
The New York Times is dedicated to seeking the truth and helping people understand the world. This project aligns with that mission by leveraging AI to present news in a way that is more personalized and engaging. By improving content discovery and making news summaries easier to digest, the project ensures that more readers can access high-quality journalism in a way that suits their individual needs.
Core Values in Action
Curiosity
AI-driven recommendations encourage users to explore diverse topics, fostering a broader understanding of the world.
Integrity
The project maintains The Times’ commitment to delivering trustworthy journalism by ensuring AI enhances, rather than distorts, the news experience.
Independence
Users receive content that aligns with their interests while maintaining journalistic integrity, free from bias or external influence.
Collaboration
The project integrates AI innovation while upholding the core values of the newsroom, ensuring technology supports, rather than replaces, quality reporting.
Excellence
By setting new standards in content discovery and personalization, the project elevates The Times’ digital experience while staying true to its journalistic excellence.
User Research 📚
To inform the design, I conducted semi-structured interviews with a diverse group of users to understand their needs and pain points. I focused on challenges with finding relevant content and exploring new topics.
Key Takeaways 🔑
Hard to Find Relevant Content
Users want a way to quickly understand articles before committing to reading them, making it easier to find relevant content.
Trouble Discovering New Topics
The app lacks intuitive search tools for users to explore and uncover new content beyond their usual reading habits.
THE PROBLEM
Users struggle to find relevant content and explore new topics, reducing engagement and retention.
Benchmarking 🔵
To identify opportunities for improvement, I compared the NYT app to both direct competitors (like Washington Post, BBC News, Apple News, and CNN) and newer AI-powered tools (like Techpresso, News Minimalist, Simply News, and Ground News).
Key Takeaways 🔑
Hard to Find Relevant Content
Users want a way to quickly understand articles before committing to reading them, making it easier to find relevant content.Trouble Discovering New Topics
The app lacks intuitive search tools for users to explore and uncover new content beyond their usual reading habits.
By analyzing these apps and trends, I identified areas where the NYT app could improve, such as smarter recommendations, quick article summaries, and more personalized discovery tools.
Potential Solutions with AI 🤔
I brainstormed ways to improve The New York Times app using AI to address user needs.
⛵️ Exploration 1: Quick Summaries
I looked into how AI could be used to create short summaries or highlights for articles. This would help users quickly find content that matches their interests, making browsing faster and more engaging.
EXPLORATIONS
Summaries or highlights of articles
Iteration 1
Features a dropdown where readers could choose between seeing a summary of the article either as a paragraph or as a bulleted list.
Iteration 2
Exploring more features for creating summaries, I looked at letting the reader choose the length of the paragraph. Readers could still choose seeing the summary in bullet form as well.
⛵️ Exploration 2: Daily News Snapshot
I envisioned a personalized daily news summary on the main screen, where AI curates and highlights the most relevant stories for the user. This feature offers a quick, tailored overview of the day's top stories.
EXPLORATIONS
A quick snapshot, curated for each reader
⛵️ Exploration 3: Optimizing Search to Help Discover New Content
I explored ways to design a smarter search page that helps users discover new content quickly. I explored ways to show suggestions based on what users like as well as showing trending topics, all ways for users to discover new content. Over time, AI can adapt and personalize the experience based on how the reader uses the app,
EXPLORATIONS
Exploring new ways to search
Usability Testing 📊
I tested the prototypes with five participants, including frequent and casual NYT readers. Key insights included:
Users loved the daily news summary for its time-saving and personalized nature
Quick summaries made it easier to decide what to read, reducing feelings of being overwhelmed
The smarter search tool was praised for its intuitive design and helpful recommendations. Users loved being given a variety of options and somewhere to start discovering.
Impact & Next Steps 🚀
I tested the prototypes with five participants, including frequent and casual NYT readers. Key insights included:
Impact
Increased user engagement with personalized and time-saving features
Enhanced content discovery, encouraging users to explore beyond their usual interests
Demonstrated how AI capabilities can indirectly improve accessibility by simplifying navigation and tailoring content
Next Steps
Conduct larger-scale testing to refine the designs further
Find a way to combine all of three experiences into one seamless flow
Explore additional AI-driven tools and learn about the impacts it could have on making The Times (and other publications) more accessible to more people
Reflection 🌟
This project taught me the value of leveraging AI to solve real user problems. By focusing on user needs, I designed features that enhance personalization and engagement while ensuring the app remains intuitive and valuable for readers. It also reinforced the importance of blending innovation with NYT’s trusted brand identity.
