(26 Aug 2026) USA Today Co. is testing different ways to reformat its website content for an AI bot audience to attract AI content licensing deals.
“We recognize that we have to create and format content for humans and for machines. And while we see a change in search-driven behavior, we also see entirely new ways to license, distribute and monetize the trusted content we produce every day,” said Mike Reed, chairman and CEO of USA Today Co., in a company earnings call on August 6.
Restructuring content formats and templates can help make it easier for AI systems to access, understand and cite USA Today’s reporting, improving the discoverability of its content in AI answer engines, Kara Chiles, USA Today Co.’s svp of product management, told Digiday. It’s part of the publisher’s larger GEO strategy to optimize for these platforms, she said.
It’s unclear which approaches USA Today Co. will take to reformat content for AI. Chiles said the publisher was testing various ones, including converting webpages into markdown. The company is also gathering data on which bots are accessing USA Today Co.’s webpages to better understand who is seeking out its content and why, she added. USA Today Co. is monitoring AI impressions and referral traffic, and what content is being cited in Google AI Overviews.
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