In short
Artificial intelligence designed for journalists’ work. It applies the rules of the trade: citing its sources, respecting journalism ethics and keeping a record of what it produces.
ExampleA newsroom prepares an article from several wire stories with an editorial AI. The tool shows the source of each fact. The journalist reviews, corrects and approves the text before publication.
Why it mattersA general-purpose assistant ignores the rules of the press. It can invent a source or erase where a passage came from. An editorial AI is designed so that the journalist can check every fact and every quote before publication.
How it differs from a general-purpose assistant
A general-purpose assistant answers any kind of request. An editorial AI is built around the work of a newsroom. It can be recognised by a few guarantees:
- every claim in the text is tied to a source, or flagged as having none
- quotes are copied word for word
- the origin of every passage is recorded: journalist, AI or document
- the newsroom can export this record and show it
What it does in a newsroom
An editorial AI takes on research, reading, monitoring, transcription, checking and writing. It rewrites wire stories, finds contact details, reads documents, formats copy and checks consistency. Every result points back to its source.
Questions to ask before choosing a tool
Before entrusting texts to an AI tool, a newsroom can ask six questions:
- Where is the data stored and processed?
- Is the newsroom’s content used to train models?
- Does the tool show the source of each fact?
- Do quotes stay word for word?
- Can an article’s audit trail be exported?
- Who approves the text before publication?
Verbatim
Verbatim builds AI agents for research, analysis and writing. It was founded by a journalist and designed for journalism first. Its project types also cover long-form writing, analysis and research. The agents search, read, follow sources, find people, prepare interviews, check facts and write in the journalist’s style. Every fact stays tied to its source, and Verbatim records the origin of every line.
VerbatimAgent equips one person, staff or freelance. VerbatimOS equips a newsroom or a team, from the desk to publication. Both run on the same agents.
Questions
Can an editorial AI publish without review?
In Verbatim, no text is published without the journalist’s approval. The journalist sees what each agent is doing, at every step, and can stop or undo anything.
Does an editorial AI write the articles?
It writes first drafts and summaries from the sources it is given. In Verbatim, the Writing agent writes in the journalist’s style, and every fact in the draft stays tied to its source. Every correction the journalist makes refines their style profile.
Does the AI Act apply to editorial AI?
Yes. Since 2 August 2026, Article 50 has required transparency about texts on matters of public interest generated or manipulated by AI. The obligation does not apply after human review or editorial control, under the editorial responsibility of a natural or legal person. A record of where each passage comes from helps the newsroom document that review.