In a bid to get in on the AI-for-media wave, Infosys and Germany’s Handelsblatt have come together with an editorial recommendation engine. Investors were on board: shares were up over 6% on June 2nd, a sign they like what they see in a company that is making a name for itself in AI, not just as an IT services provider.
What it is and why you should care
Editorial Link Intelligence, or ELI for short, is the result of a three-year arrangement where Infosys has been the go-to for AI and digital innovation at Handelsblatt and WirtschaftsWoche. It was made for them, and for them only.
The idea behind ELI is to put some heft into digital storytelling and keep readers in the fold with contextual links. Infosys says it’s proof that you can have your AI and use it too, as long as the final call on the copy stays with the human.
How the market has responded
On BSE, the stock hit a high of 1,278.90, a 6.2% gain. Put that in perspective: the scrip is down 19% in half a year and 18% over 12 months, so this is a bit of a turnaround after a 7% run-up in the last month alone.
You could feel the energy in Indian IT generally. Nifty IT was up 3.95%, part of a three-day streak with over 6% in the bank. Some of that is thanks to a good read from Snowflake, but there’s also the rupee, hopes of rate cuts in the US and, of course, the AI spend.
TCS was up 6.19% to 2,439.50. HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra were 3.56% and 2.31% higher, respectively. Then you have Coforge and LTIM in the mix, up 4.13% and 3.34%.
Under the hood of ELI
Wongdoody, the human experience side of Infosys, put this one together on top of the Aster marketing suite. It goes through an article and its metadata to point you to the internal links that make sense.
It’s built to fit right in with a publisher’s CMS. Editors can add to a story the way they’re used to. In a newsroom, you don’t want a new tool to be a hassle; this is meant to be seamless.
What it means for the publisher and the reader
Readers will find it simpler to get around some of the more involved pieces. For the publisher, you get better numbers on engagement and time on page, which is the whole point of high-end journalism.
Executives at Handelsblatt are saying ELI is a good way to tie content together, with a human in the loop. And that’s the line from Infosys: we’re here to back up the newsroom, not to take over.
A different kind of play
With this, Infosys is being very visible about an AI product that has results. It’s not some vague talk of transformation you hear in the industry. They’ve solved a problem for the newsroom and are showing how to make money from it.
Others in the sector had a good day on macro winds, but for Infosys, there was a product to show for it. When a client is looking for a vendor who can actually deliver on a niche AI need, not just a PowerPoint, that’s what makes the difference.
Here is what you can expect from ELI, according to both sides:
– Keep the reins on your editorial while you scale
– Better linking in your own ecosystem
– More discovery, no disruption to the way you work
Looking ahead
This is a big step for the partnership and for Infosys’ presence in Europe’s top-tier business media. If the metrics hold up, it’s a case study for the rest of the industry to follow.
Sentiment is on the up and pilots are hardening into products. Now it will be interesting to see if Infosys can do with other sectors what it has with ELI, in places where you can’t afford to lose context or trust.
