The JournalismAI Innovation Challenge, supported by the Google News Initiative, is a programme designed to fund projects from a wide range of news publishers. Its goal is to foster AI literacy and implementation through targeted innovation and experimentation.

About the Programme

This nine-month programme is led by the JournalismAI team, an initiative of Polis, the journalism think-tank at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), with support from the Google News Initiative.

Following the success of the first cohort, the second edition of the Innovation Challenge continues efforts to strengthen AI literacy, implementation, and experimentation in the news industry.

Who Can Apply?

The programme is targeted at small and medium-sized news publishers (10–200 personnel) who are already exploring the possibilities of AI technologies.

This year, up to 12 organisations will be supported to use AI technologies for:

• Enhancing audience intelligence
• Driving revenue growth

Examples of AI Applications

Publishers could explore:

• Subscriptions, memberships, and donations
  • Dynamic paywall strategies
  • Churn prediction and prevention
  • Personalised products or recommendations
• New B2B revenue streams
  • Premium subscription-based data insight services
  • Mining and structuring premium content and audience data

Funding Details

Grants will be awarded as follows:

• 8 projects → US $50,000 each
• 4 projects → US $100,000 each

Applicants must indicate the amount they are applying for in the application form.

Funding covers:

• Personnel costs directly related to project delivery
• Engineering costs
• Purchase/licensing of equipment, tools, hardware, software, and other assets

Note: Funding cannot be used for general overhead costs.

Eligibility & Selection

• Open to small and medium-sized publishers (10–200 personnel)
• Consideration for projects delivered in local languages
• Focus on citizens of all ages, in both urban and rural communities
• Applications must be submitted in English via the provided online form

Info Sessions

Virtual information sessions will be held to answer questions about the programme:

• Tuesday, 18 November 2025 — 7:30 AM GMT
• Wednesday, 19 November 2025 — 3:00 PM GMT
• Tuesday, 25 November 2025 — 9:00 AM GMT
• Wednesday, 26 November 2025 — 5:00 PM GMT

Registrations close one day prior to each session.

Application Process & Timeline

• Submit applications via the Google Form
• Applications must be in English and submitted before the deadline.
• Once submitted, applications cannot be edited.
• Applicants will receive an email confirmation upon submission.

For preparation, a Google Doc with all application questions is available. You may make a copy to draft your responses before filling out the official form.

Apply Now

Submit Your Application

Please submit your application in English using the provided Google form. Contact the organisers if you have concerns about accessing the application or providing responses in English.