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Artifact app’s remnants power the revamped Yahoo News app

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Yahoo has launched the revamped version of its Yahoo News app on both Android and iOS, utilising the AI technologies from Artifact, a news app acquired by Yahoo.

Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger developed the Artefact news reader app in 2023. Although received well, the app failed to make it big, and the founders decided to wind down some operations in January 2024. Later, in April, Yahoo acquired the app with the sole purpose of integrating its technology into some of its future apps.

Yahoo News is quite popular in the United States, with more than 180 million monthly visitors. Hence, the company is looking to leverage artificial intelligence for more personalized news generation.

The new iteration of Yahoo News will contain features such as ‘Key Takeaways,’ a set of succinct AI-generated key points for quick insights into the news article. As of now, Yahoo is testing AI summaries for the website, too. The ‘Top Stories’ tab will show the latest news reports on trending topics.

However, as reported by TechCrunch, the testing is only being conducted on a small percentage of articles and users. It may take some time before users can view AI-generated summaries on the Yahoo News website.

Moreover, the Yahoo News app allows users to customise news articles, blocking certain keywords or publishers. Users can also flag headlines as clickbait, which the app will automatically rewrite to maintain relevance and accuracy.

Revamped Yahoo News app. | Source: Yahoo

Yahoo News features badges and streaks to get people hooked, adding a gamified element to the news consumption experience. These badges, starting from Learner and ending in Sage, may increase the user’s authority within the Yahoo community.

Furthermore, the app provides a one-touch sharing option for quick and effortless news sharing.

It is quite obvious that Yahoo is pushing AI for its products. However, as Wired reports, apps with recommendation algorithms often lock people into an echo chamber. Yahoo News is treading carefully by balancing the ‘top stories’ with the ‘for you,’ keeping readers away from the news bubble.

“We believe Yahoo News can help people stay informed, make sense of the world around them by getting them more of the stories that matter to them, and even enjoy catching up on the news again,” said Kat Downs Mulder, SVP and GM, Yahoo News.

Although Yahoo News borrows heavily from Artifact, several features didn’t make it to the final cut. For instance, Artifact featured an AI voice reader that imitated celebrities’ voices. This feature is absent in the Yahoo News app, and we aren’t complaining.

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Kumar Hemant

Kumar Hemant

Deputy Editor at Candid.Technology. Hemant writes at the intersection of tech and culture and has a keen interest in science, social issues and international relations. You can contact him here: kumarhemant@pm.me

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