If 2023 was the year the world discovered generative AI (gen AI), 2024 would be the year organizations implement it to truly derive business value. 

According to a McKinsey survey, 65% of respondents reported that their organizations regularly use gen AI, double the percentage from a survey just ten months ago. Half of those said they have adopted AI for two or more business functions.

Source: McKinsey & Company

With increasing measurable benefits and reduced risk of inaccuracy, AI use cases are exploding. MIT Technology Review predicts that in 2024, Gen AI’s second wave will come as text-to-video (we explained why video matters in an earlier blog).

If you are a Publisher, making sense of rapid advancements in AI can be daunting. The technology can seem unfamiliar, and the pace can be mind-boggling. A lot can happen in just one week.

For instance, on March 13^th, OpenAI launched GPT4-o, a much faster GenAI model with text, vision, and audio capabilities. The next day, Google released a series of updates across its Gemini family of models, including speed improvements, longer context, and better AI agents. 

AI developers have been working to get AI to do more with less. Future AI models will require significantly less computing and data to achieve similar performance:

Ai Advancement Trend Over The Past Decade (Source: Epoch)

As AI becomes democratized, its use case will expand beyond a circle of experts. Publishing professionals must monitor developments and invest smartly in AI tools and training. Newsletters are a great way to stay updated about this rapidly evolving space. 

To help publishers navigate the sea of information, we have compiled a list of top 10 newsletters covering developments in and around AI. We have narrowed this list based on relevance to publishers, usefulness, length, number of subscribers, and our experience.

Let's get to it. 

AI-Focused Newsletters

1. AI Tool Report

If you cannot afford to spend more than 5 minutes but want to stay updated on AI developments, AI Tool Report is the right newsletter. This daily newsletter presents neatly arranged information that does not overwhelm readers. 

Along with the headline AI developments of the day, it covers important topics around AI, such as regulation, risk, and safety, AI tools and their features, and prompt tips. It also includes a summary of the stock performance of top AI companies.

Despite many choices in this niche, AI Tool Report has gained popularity. In under 10 months of launch, it has attracted over 500,000 subscribers and generated $100,000 in monthly revenue.

There is also a premium plan ($15 monthly) with additional features that include:

• 5,000+ AI tool database
• 1,000+ Advanced ChatGPT prompt vault ($2,000+ value)
• In-depth video tutorial library on ChatGPT and Midjourney ($5,000 value)
• $100,000+ savings on top tools
• Database of every tool, prompt, and link from newsletters

The AI tool report was created by Martin Crowley, who was fairly early and well-versed in the crypto and the NFT spaces and moved to AI as a logical next step.

2. Ben's Bites

Bens Bites is a small team on a mission to make AI simple to understand and easy to use. Its founder, Ben Tossell, built a no-code tutorial platform, Makerpad, which was sold to Zapier in 2021. 

Ben invests in AI companies and has been sending newsletters since October 2022. Ben’s team has empowered thousands to build profitable businesses without code. They now aim to democratize AI, as they did for no code.

The newsletter provides AI-curated news, product launches, and deep dives on business use cases once a week. It keeps its readers engaged and entertained by mixing important information with a sense of humor.

We particularly like the QuickBites section that explains complex AI developments by answering three questions:

• What's going on here? 
• What does this mean?
• Why should I care?

Bens Bites bridges the gap between sophisticated AI research and practical insights while keeping its 100,000+ subscribers updated on relevant AI developments. You can also upgrade to a pro plan ($250 one-time), which provides access to AI tutorials and case studies and unlocks community access and additional content. 

3. TLDR (AI)

TLDR is a collection of tech-focused newsletters, 16 to be precise, 10 of which are currently active. Together, the newsletter has a reader base of over 1.25 million. 

During signup, you are directed to a clean landing page where you enter your email and indicate your interests. Confirming the link in your inbox, and you are good to go. 

The AI newsletter neatly summarizes information into the following sections: 

• Headlines and Launches 
• Research and innovation updates 
• Engineering and resources 
• Miscellaneous updates around AI
• Quick Links

We see TLDR AI as a great source of news updates about AI, ML, and data science.

4. The Neuron

The Neuron is a free daily newsletter dedicated to the latest news about AI and has over 450,000 subscribers. It has an easy-to-read structure and a cat-themed thumbnail that is welcoming to the readers.

Neuron begins with a brief bulleted summary of what you need to know about AI for the day, a brief review of the latest AI tools, the author’s take on the latest developments in AI, and a humorous cat commentary section with 2-3 lines from a reader’s perspective about how fun it was to read the newsletter.

Subscription is free and comes with access to Neuron’s 47-lesson Intro to ChatGPT video course.

Publisher-Focused Newsletters

5. Publisher’s Daily

Publisher’s Daily is a newsletter published by MediaPost, an integrated publishing and conference company that provides a complete array of resources for media, marketing, and advertising professionals. 

While not exclusively AI-focused, this newsletter covers important updates in the publishing industry and is a great resource for staying current on macro developments around AI.

The newsletter can be subscribed to by registering for a free membership on the Mediapost website.

6. Digiday+ Media Briefing

Digiday+ Media Briefing covers the latest media trends and is distributed every Thursday at 10 a.m. ET. Like Publisher’s Daily, it is not exclusively AI-focused but regularly includes AI developments in digital media publishing. 

The newsletter is a part of the Digiday+ subscription plan and is particularly relevant to publishing professionals. 

We recommend subscribing to this newsletter, which provides high-quality macro perspectives on AI in media, marketing, and retail. 

Leadership-Focused Newsletters

7. QuantumBlack (McKinsey)

QuantumBlack is McKinsey’s AI arm, helping organizations harness the power of AI to create opportunities in a constantly changing world. QuantumBlack insights provide interesting perspectives on the state of AI, its general direction, and big-ticket developments that affect the broader industry. 

This is a great source of information for leaders who want to monitor AI's real-world impact on the industry and keep tabs on its general direction. 

8. The CEO Report

The CEO Report is no-fluff news for (busy) CEOs and includes 5-7 well-summarized daily tech updates. While not fully AI-focused, this newsletter effectively monitors big-ticket AI developments.  

We recommend it for its clean interface and well-curated summaries, which help you stay updated in under two minutes. The articles direct you to the sources if you want to dig deeper. 

Other Useful Newsletters

9. Prompts Daily

Because prompts are how most users get things done with AI, mastering the art of prompts will soon become a critical skill for professionals in digital media publishing. 

This is where Prompt Daily helps level up by providing the most simplified and tactical AI prompts, insights, and tools to stay ahead of the curve. The newsletter has over 100,000 subscribers, including leaders from tech companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Meta.

It provides updates on and access to valuable AI tools, news, and tutorials completely for free. We like it for its clean layout and engaging content that is easy to read and well-organized into the following sections:

• Daily updates 
• Featured post 
• Best Links (Productivity tools, useful tips, AI training courses, etc)
• Daily Challenge (Usually a poll where you answer an AI-related question)
• Funding and job-related updates
• Mystery Link (revealed only when you click - keeps things interesting)
• Prompt tutorials 
• “Etcetra”
• Closing Updates 

We recommend subscribing to this one, not just for AI updates but for the practical tips it provides on using AI in your daily workflows.

10. The AI Ethics Brief

Ethical considerations around AI are particularly important for publishers to effectively integrate AI tools while maintaining the integrity and credibility of published content. 

The AI Ethics Brief, backed by the Montreal AI Ethics Institute, is a newsletter based on authentic research that provides a potent dose of weekly content on AI ethics. It also includes links to interesting podcasts. 

The content is detailed and complex but includes a quick summary for those who prefer a TLDR. You will typically see the following sections:

Each newsletter includes a poll, with reader responses published in the next edition. Whether you seek a high-level summary or an in-depth analysis of AI ethics, this newsletter is a valuable resource in your inbox.

Summary

In 2010, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg predicted the end of email. Yet, today, over 4 billion people use it to stay updated. Whether you prefer in-depth reading or quick summaries, this curated list of email newsletters is a great way to stay updated on AI developments in and around publishing.

If you are a publisher, subscribe to our weekly blogs for more on AI in publishing. And don’t forget to move us into your primary inbox.