--- title: "BuzzFeed Says Its AI Is Outperforming Its Pesky Human Employees" description: "BuzzFeed has told investors that its readers spend 40 percent more time with its AI-built quizzes than the traditional ones." date: "2023-05-13" modified: "2023-05-13" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/buzzfeed-ai-outperforming-human-employees" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai chatbots" - "buzzfeed" - "the digest" --- # BuzzFeed Says Its AI Is Outperforming Its Pesky Human Employees ![BuzzFeed has told investors that its readers spend 40 percent more time with its AI-built quizzes than the traditional ones.]() *\Image: Pexels / Futurism\* ## AI Supremacy The struggling media company *BuzzFeed* told investors this week that its readers spend 40 percent more time with its AI-facilitated quizzes than traditional ones, [*Bloomberg* reports](). While we have yet to see a more detailed breakdown of the numbers — the company would obviously be incentivized to present the stats in as flattering a way as possible — it is interesting to see it doubling down on AI after shutting down its entire Pulitzer-winning news division last month, laying off [around 120 of its 1,200 total employees](). ## Getting Quizzical Earlier this year, *BuzzFeed* [announced]() it would be letting human employees create quizzes that made use of AI chatbots — which, to be fair, was [kind of a fun idea](). Despite those early promises, it soon turned out that *BuzzFeed* was using AI to generate more than just quizzes. Dozens of SEO-driven travel guides started appearing on the site that made heavy use of [hackneyed writing and repeated phrases](). In a statement to *Futurism* at the time, *BuzzFeed* said it was "continuing to experiment with AI to 'enhance human creativity,'" and "trying new formats that allow anyone (with or without a formal background in writing or content creation) to contribute their ideas and unique perspectives on our site." As of right now, even the AI quizzes aren't much more than glorified Mad Libs — a far cry from the"more personalized, more creative, more dynamic" AI-generated content CEO Jonah Peretti promised in a [March interview with *CNN*](). And it's not just *BuzzFeed*. Earlier this year, *Futurism* found that both [*CNET*]() and [*Men's Health*]() were quietly publishing entire AI-generated articles, some of which were riddled with [errors]() and [plagiarism](). ## Chatbucks Now, though, *BuzzFeed* is seemingly seeking to justify the AI move by trying to demonstrate that its experiment is paying off. According to *Bloomberg*, *BuzzFeed* told investors that it's projecting adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization to be in the "high teens" millions of dollars this fiscal year (the company's stock, meanwhile, is now hovering around half its value at the time it first announced the AI content.) Whether any of that is attributable to the purported success of its investment in AI — or the mass layoffs that have rocked the company this year — remains to be seen. **More on BuzzFeed:** *[BuzzFeed Is Quietly Publishing Whole AI-Generated Articles, Not Just Quizzes]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()