Generative Artificial Intelligence in South American newsrooms: mapping adoption and uses (2023–2025)

Abstract

Objective. This study analyzes how generative artificial intelligence is being incorporated into newsrooms in South America, identifying forms of use, purposes, and implications for journalistic processes and communication practices. Methodology. The research adopts an exploratory and qualitative approach, combining a systematic review of the literature, a review of gray literature, cartography, and content analysis. The study is based on an analysis of 32 news organizations in ten South American countries between 2023 and 2025, considering publicly available institutional documents, reports, policies, and journalistic coverage related to the adoption of generative AI. Results and Conclusions. The analysis identifies recurring patterns of technological adoption and proposes a model of incorporation structured around three main dimensions: audience mediation, production support, and political-institutional practices. These dimensions include applications such as chatbots, automated summaries, content generation, writing support tools, fact-checking systems, transparency policies, and professional training initiatives. The results suggest that generative AI in South American journalism is being institutionalized both as a production tool and as a communication interface that reshapes relationships with the public and practices in newsrooms. Original contribution. The study presents one of the first regional mappings of the adoption of generative AI in South American journalism and proposes an analytical model that explains how the technology is being institutionalized in news organizations within the South American context.