How News Finds the Audience Now — and Why Trust Matters More Than Ever

The audience no longer searches for news. It encounters it. That, according to Riccardo Terzi, Head of News Partnerships for Southern Europe at Google, is the most profound — and most misunderstood — shift in the digital news ecosystem today.

In an in-depth conversation with Naftemporiki, Terzi explains how news consumption is moving from search to prediction, what publishers often misunderstand about Google Discover, why trust has become a business imperative, and how artificial intelligence can strengthen — rather than weaken — professional journalism.

News no longer starts at the homepage

The most radical change of recent years, Terzi argues, is indirect access to news.

“We are witnessing a structural shift where audiences — especially Gen Z — no longer begin their news journey on a media outlet’s homepage,” he says. “Instead, they arrive through side doors: social video platforms, feeds and discovery-based environments.”

But what many publishers still underestimate, he adds, is something deeper. “The real shift is from search to prediction. With products like Google Discover, we are not simply answering questions. We surface content based on user interests — before the user even knows to ask for it.”

Riccardo Terzi at Google
Publisher Day/ © Andrea VeroniThe mistake publishers make — and the rarest currency

According to Terzi, many publishers continue to think in terms of passive distribution.

“They still treat their journalism as an archive waiting for a search query,” he says, “rather than proactively preparing stories to travel inside predictive feeds.” Understanding this distinction, he stresses, is now critical for growth. In an environment dominated by speed, formats and algorithms, trust becomes the defining differentiator. “In an age of infinite content, trust is the only truly scarce currency,” Terzi says.

That scarcity has direct business consequences. In Greece, only 22% of users say they trust the news most of the time. “Trust is no longer just an editorial value,” he explains. “It is a commercial necessity. It’s the bridge that turns a casual click into a loyal, registered user.”

Google data show that publishers with more than 7.5% logged-in audiences have a significantly higher probability of profitability. “You cannot build that relationship without trust,” he adds.

What publishers misunderstand about Google Discover

Terzi is clear that Google Discover does not replace Search — it complements it.

“It’s a query-less experience. Content finds the user.”

The most common strategic mistake, he says, is treating Discover as traditional SEO.

“In a world without queries, keywords matter less. What matters is E-E-A-T — Experience, Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness — and visual storytelling.”

Too often, publishers focus only on text optimisation while ignoring the fact that Discover is fundamentally visual.

“Technical details like high-quality images with a minimum width of 1,200 pixels are frequently underestimated — yet they are decisive for performance.”

The biggest mistake, however, is inertia. “In predictive environments like Discover, algorithms reward consistency and depth — becoming a recognised authority in a specific subject area.”

Personalisation without information bubbles

Addressing concerns about filter bubbles, Terzi stresses that Google’s mission is to organise information, not restrict it.

At the same time, the company is increasing user agency through tools such as Preferred Sources in Top Stories.

“Users who activate them visit trusted publishers up to twice as often,” he notes. “Personalisation should be based on active choice, not passive filtering.”

Artificial intelligence: threat or force multiplier?

Terzi views AI as a historic opportunity for professional journalism. “We see AI as a force multiplier for newsrooms,” he says.

He points to tools already in use:

• Pinpoint, which enables investigative teams to analyse thousands of documents in seconds and surface stories that would otherwise remain hidden.
• NotebookLM, a research assistant that helps journalists synthesise complex material and verify facts with citations.
• At the same time, Google is deploying technologies such as SynthID, which digitally watermarks AI-generated content, ensuring transparency and accountability.

“At a business level, AI improves efficiency — from newsletters to subscription campaigns,” Terzi explains. “At a journalistic level, it allows reporters to process massive datasets and uncover stories that manual methods simply cannot.”

The real opportunity, he adds, is using AI to handle routine tasks — freeing journalists to focus on high-value work that machines cannot replicate.

What comes next

Terzi remains optimistic. “Human curiosity is not declining — it’s growing. People continue to ask questions and seek reliable, high-quality answers.”

AI, he says, is accelerating this dynamic by enabling more complex queries and deeper exploration. As long as publishers provide human insight and credibility, demand for their work will remain strong.

The greatest risk, however, lies elsewhere. “A lack of transparency — and the inability to distinguish verified facts from synthetic noise.”

That is why trust, in the future, must also be technically verifiable, through content labelling tools and initiatives such as the C2PA coalition for content authenticity. In the new information economy, credibility is no longer just editorial capital. It is infrastructure.