News UK, with its 240-year heritage, has demonstrated how data and AI can be embedded at the centre of a modern media business. Operating across three global locations and structured into a dozen cross-functional squads, the team works directly within newsrooms, commercial functions, marketing, and technology.
For this integrated and transformative model spanning core infrastructure, adoption of generative AI, and audience engagement, News UK has won Best Data & AI Team (Media) at the 2025 DataIQ Awards.
“Through foundational change, AI innovation, and embedding expertise across the organisation, News UK has demonstrated why their team is so successful.” – Judges’ comments
Embedding Expertise
The News UK Data Team brings together specialists in AI, data science, engineering, product, and delivery. Rather than acting as a siloed unit, the team embeds into business areas, ensuring alignment with strategy and multiplying the impact of individual expertise. This approach has elevated the function from a support role to a strategic driver.
AI Innovation
The team has developed proprietary generative AI tools that are now widely adopted across the business:
- A secure transcription tool providing fast, accurate output with speaker detection.
- A generative AI-powered chat assistant that integrates leading large language models to deliver natural language access to datasets.
Adoption rates exceed 70% across a workforce of 2,500, supported by an integrated training and communications programme with Group Operations. These tools have become part of daily workflows in editorial, finance, marketing, commercial, and technology teams.
The team has also experimented with AI to enhance audience engagement. Personalised puzzles and games delivered within articles achieved engagement rates twice the industry benchmark, showing how AI can create new forms of reader value.
Strong Data Foundations
Alongside high-profile AI initiatives, the team has strengthened core infrastructure and personalisation:
- Recommendation engines now power video experiences, simplified for efficiency and forming the basis of a new personalisation architecture.
- Data warehouse overhaul with a streamlined datamart strategy, improving quality, accelerating insights, and reducing costs.
This dual focus on innovation and infrastructure ensures immediate value while building resilience for the future.
Looking Ahead
The judges highlighted the News UK Data Team’s ability to balance visibility and depth: embedding expertise across the organisation, delivering widely adopted AI tools, and investing in data foundations.
By aligning with strategic priorities and making data central to operations, the team has become more than the sum of its parts. Their recognition as Best Data & AI Team (Media) underscores how a heritage organisation can thrive in the data-driven era.
