AI Publisher Response Live: Trust, strategy, and what’s next

BY LIZ MOOREHEAD, BEELER.TECH

We’re kicking off AI Publisher Response Live as a shared working space leading up to AI Publisher Response on May 6.

This every-other-Friday series hosted by Rob Beeler is designed to bring publisher teams, industry partners, and other stakeholders together to think out loud, compare notes, and get sharper as a community. The goal is simple: take what’s happening in the market right now with AI, put language around it, and turn that into real decisions publishers can make while the ground keeps moving.

The conversation (which you can watch, in full, above) moved through what an LLM strategy can look like in practice, how publishers assess leverage in a shifting marketplace, and what it means to rebuild audience relationships when discovery and attention behave differently than they did even a year ago.

The group kept coming back to trust and human connection as a real asset, along with the operational question underneath it: how publishers prove, maintain, and grow that trust at scale. There was also a clear thread around “publisher as studio,” including IP that travels across formats, stronger direct channels like newsletters and apps, and content that people actively seek out because it carries perspective and personality. 

The takeaway was a shared map and a commitment to keep working it in public. Rob closed by making participation part of the plan, with follow-up notes and materials to react to, plus a clear cadence for upcoming sessions that mix guest-led conversations and group problem-solving.

Next up is a session with Amanda Sabreah (who joined us at Base.Camp Savannah last October) on February 6. We’ll focus on the publisher brand problem, with more operators and ecosystem voices to follow as the series builds toward May.