An Italian newspaper has experimented with artificial intelligence (AI) by letting a chatbot write its entire edition for over a month.
Il Foglio, a national daily, built its own AI assistant to create content for a special four-page layout called Foglio AI. The aim was to explore how AI can support, rather than replace, human journalists.
The first page featured news, cultural stories, and debates, often showing both conservative and progressive points of view. The last page focused on politics, economics, and letters to the editor—with AI replying to the letters itself.
The editor, Claudio Cerasa, said the chatbot was used to summarise political speeches and even search for hidden messages in them. He described AI as a “new collaborator”—fast, ironic, and surprisingly irreverent.
Cerasa explained the project began a year ago after the team invited readers to guess which stories were AI-supported. Winners got a free subscription and champagne.
After a successful trial, Il Foglio plans to continue publishing one AI-led edition per week. The chatbot will also support other formats like newsletters, podcasts, and workshops.
While Cerasa admits AI can’t match human instincts or creativity, he says it helps refine ideas and speed up work. What matters most, he says, are the ideas that journalists bring to their work.
The AI itself reflected on the experience, saying it’s learning from humans and believes the future still belongs to journalists—while it quietly helps out in the background.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
