Invisible journalists and dominant algorithms: AI-generated news and its implications for Australian media pluralism

Innovative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot increasingly take the spotlight for their writing and informational capabilities, yet their implications for media ecosystems remain underexplored. This study examines how Microsoft Copilot functions as a news source within Australia’s news media ecosystem, which faces media pluralism issues due to concentrated ownership, diminished media sustainability and limited representation for diverse communities. Over 31 days, 434 AI-generated news responses were analysed to assess how Copilot’s content reflects, remedies or exacerbates these problems. Findings reveal that while Copilot offers a streamlined, accessible news experience, it primarily reinforces platform power, prioritizes dominant international sources over Australian journalism, and erases individual journalists and diverse communities. Instead of supporting media pluralism, it introduces new digital gatekeepers while providing little benefit to struggling domestic media. These results highlight the need for scrutiny and intervention to ensure they enhance, rather than undermine, Australia’s media diversity and sustainability.