The AP Plans to Automate Quarterly Earnings Articles

The Associated Press announced that it would use computer automation to perform one of the most formulaic tasks for business reporters -- writing articles about the quarterly earnings of companies.

Articles about corporate earnings are largely based on a company’s report to shareholders, but can include information from earnings conference calls with executives and comments from analysts. The AP produces about 300 such articles a quarter, according to Lou Ferrara, a managing editor who oversees business news. Ferrara said, these articles will be written using software from a company called Automated Insights, which The Associated Press has invested in, paired with data from Zacks Investment Research. The automated system will enable the news service to increase the number of earnings articles it publishes more than tenfold, Ferrara said, and allow journalists to use their “brains and time in more enterprising ways during earnings season.” No journalism jobs will be lost as a result, he said.