Axios C-Suite: Axios in the age of AI, velocity and simplicity
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I sent the following memo to Axios staff on September 18, 2026 ...
Axios — and the broader media landscape — is shifting so fast it demands constant updates on how we think about AI, this moment and the future of our company.
Why it matters: I recently wrote what I believe. We have entered what I call post-processable velocity — a speed of change exceeding the ability of any individual, company, market or government to fully absorb, understand and respond to it in real time.
- This is jarring to read, live and navigate. We know it causes a mix of excitement and fear.
The good news: You and your leadership team jumped so far ahead of the AI revolution that we're able to make smart adjustments on our terms — at our speed.
- Top officials at one of the leading AI companies said that we're in a "league of our own" compared to media companies worldwide in adapting to AI.
A few things you should know:
- We've got a smart plan. Yes, it's hard to imagine the world even six weeks out, but we're doing a lot of smart things, both in terms of coverage and adapting our business. You see this with glimpses of the Local Supersystem and expansion into new communities, as well as revenue and events growth companywide. We'll have LOTS more to say on this in October.
- You're having a record year. We will easily beat our revenue forecasts and finish with our best year ever — by far. This speaks to the quality of our content and brand but even more so to the quality and buy-in of YOU. We're moving smarter, faster than ever and so much of the energy and ideation is bottom-up.
- We're balancing AI use smartly. You've done an awesome job finding areas to easily automate so you can handle more creative, fun work. The AI enablement team is basically created and staffed by your colleagues who showed passion and expertise in using AI to unlock improvements companywide. This is the most exciting team-wide effort since our founding. At the same time, we're doing this responsibly, always putting our readers, values and human judgment first.
- Simplify. Read it and live it (or keep living it). Every month, ask yourself: "What are the three things I do in order that drive the most value and satisfaction and what are the three things I do that maybe we don't need to do or could be automated?" If you do this simple exercise and talk seriously and forthrightly with your manager, you will thrive big time.
- Keep pushing. We're on the cusp of doing something unprecedented: expanding the most influential new media brand of the past decade while trying to revitalize local news in EVERY state. This is epic work. But it only turns from dreams to work to reality if we keep challenging each other, believing in each other and helping each other.
A personal note on this moment: It would be reckless and irresponsible for me to not contemplate the bad outcomes outlined by top AI leaders and researchers. We're in the unique position of using our media platform to bluntly and clinically explore and illuminate grave concerns. We do this aggressively, commanding the attention of powerful voices across government, business and AI. We then apply this knowledge and thinking to our AI use, tightening our governance of how we use it and how we protect our systems and values as the tech evolves. We see no upside in taking any risk in using AI until we've validated its safety and efficacy.
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