Atex, together with partners Marfeel and Qiota, hosted the first edition of Aperitalk Editoriali in Milan — a new event format designed to create an open, practical dialogue between publishers, editors, journalists, and digital product innovators. 

Across three focused sessions and an “AperiCena” networking hour, participants explored the pressures and opportunities facing today’s newsrooms: from AI‑driven content production to personalized reader journeys and the shifting logic of platform traffic. 

All panels were moderated by Alberto Puliafito, journalist and consultant, founder and editor of Slow News, who guided the discussions by connecting strategic vision with real newsroom experience and encouraging a candid, practice‑oriented exchange among speakers. 

Session 1 – The Augmented Publisher: AI‑Driven Opportunities for Modern Content Production 

The first panel brought together Filippo Tramelli of Primopiano Academy, Filippo Davanzo, Deputy Managing Director of Il Giornale di Brescia, and Sara Forni, Product Owner Innovation at Atex, to introduce the concept of the Augmented Publisher.  

The discussion explored how today’s publishers operate in an environment where content is increasingly fluid, multi‑format, and shaped by AI. Stories are no longer confined to a single form but must exist simultaneously as text, audio, video, social fragments, and interactive products, a transformation that AI is rapidly accelerating. 

Atex’s contribution: practical innovation from real projects 

During her talk, Sara Forni showcased two Atex research initiatives that directly address the challenges of modern multi‑format production and newsroom efficiency: 

1. Project JEDI – Turning interview audio into publication‑ready articles in minutes 

Funded by the Next Gen EU initiative, the JEDI project focuses on using AI to transcribe, structure, and transform raw interview audio into near‑final editorial content.
It demonstrates how AI can: 

• drastically reduce production time, 

• support journalists during high‑volume reporting cycles, 

• Maintain a strong editorial voice while automating repetitive steps. 

This project perfectly embodies the panel’s central theme: AI as an enabler of quality and speed, not a replacement for editorial judgment. 

Learn more: “The JEDI Project: From Interview Audio to Publication-Ready Articles in Minutes.”

2. Local News Intelligent Monitoring & Sourcing  

Sara also presented the Local News research initiative, developed with the University of Oulu (Finland).
The goal: give local newsrooms the technological power to maintain comprehensive coverage in a fragmented information environment. 

The system uses LLMs to: 

• automatically monitor municipal and community‑level sources, 

• extract key facts from scattered updates, 

• classify and rank them for editorial relevance. 

In doing so, it helps local journalists focus on what truly matters: capturing the stories that most impact their communities. 

Together, these projects illustrate how Atex is applying AI pragmatically — not as hype, but as a tool to solve real newsroom challenges. 

Session 2 – Increasing Conversions Through Personalized User Journeys 

The second session featured Massimo Brugnone of Il Foglio, Stefano Motta of Milano Finanza, and Alessandro Massi, CEO of Qiota. Drawing on concrete use cases from Il Foglio and Milano Finanza, the discussion showcased how data‑driven personalization can significantly improve subscription performance, demonstrating the impact of tailored user journeys on conversion and long‑term reader value. 

Key insights included: 

• Conversion rates grow when each reader follows a tailored path. 

• Data is essential to understand propensity to subscribe. 

• Reader value is maximized when personalization drives not just paywall exposure but also content recommendations and engagement flows. 

The shared message: personalization isn’t optional anymore — it’s the new backbone of subscription growth. 

Session 3 – Google Discover’s Shift Toward AI, YouTube, and X 

Marta Rocamora from Marfeel presented a fresh study on how Google Discover is evolving under the influence of AI.
Their findings show that Discover increasingly rewards publishers who embrace multi‑format content and optimize engagement across platforms such as YouTube and X. 

Key takeaways: 

• AI plays a growing role in Discover’s ranking logic. 

• Traffic diversification is critical in an era where platform behaviour changes rapidly. 

• Editorial strategy must adapt to new consumption patterns, blending SEO, social, and AI‑driven distribution. 

Marco Baldini from Hearst Italia added concrete examples of how AI‑mediated distribution is reshaping traffic dynamics and editorial priorities. 

Why Atex Created Aperitalk Editoriali 

Aperitalk Editoriali reflects Atex’s commitment to supporting the evolution of publishing through open dialogue on AI, audience‑centric strategies, sustainable models, and the future of newsroom innovation. 

Through research projects like JEDI and the Local News Intelligent Monitoring initiative, Atex is investing in solutions that amplify journalistic impact and simplify complex workflows. 

We would like to thank Barbara D’Amico for attending the event and for her thoughtful, in‑depth analysis. Some of her insights and material helped inform the writing of this article, and we warmly invite readers to explore her full analysis here.

We hope this marks the beginning of a series of events dedicated to connecting technology, editorial strategy, and the future of news.