The Future of News Consumption in Indonesia: Navigating the AI Era
Why Do Indonesians Complain About News Quality?
It isn’t always fair—but many people in Indonesia express concern about the quality of online news articles. Common complaints include:
- Inaccuracies and misquotes
- Unverified information or lack of context
- Perceived bias
- Dubious logical flows
These challenges raise the question: How will AI change news consumption in Indonesia?
AI Search and the Power of Perplexity’s Discover Feature
Perplexity’s Discover feature offers a new way to consume news. As Perplexity explains, Discover is a “personalized feed that provides users with the latest stories and trending topics from around the world, curated according to their interests and activity. It leverages AI to synthesize and recommend content, helping users stay updated on important developments and discover new topics efficiently.”
You can tailor your feed to focus on:
- International news
- Indonesian news
- Or a curated mix, according to your interests
The result: a stream of stories sourced, compared, and synthesized from dozens of credible sources, all presented as a single, authoritative narrative. While errors can still occur, the aggregation process reduces individual outlet bias and weaknesses.
Example: Real-World Impact
Today’s Discover feed headline:
“Prabowo says foreign exchange earnings from exports policy not yet satisfactory.”
How was this story constructed?
Perplexity cited 61 sources, most of them from Earned media—unpaid, organic news articles published online.
Earned Media: Still the King in Generative AI
This trend aligns with Maverick’s white paper on The AI Visibility of Indonesian Banks, which highlights Earned Media’s foundational role in shaping AI visibility. Even as publishers try to block AI crawlers (especially in Indonesia, see our post here), Perplexity and similar engines continue to index their stories.
- Earned Media: Dominates citations, shaping top stories (this is consistent with Maverick’s findings on its white paper on AI Visibility for Indonesian Banks)
- Owned Media: Accounts for about 20% of citations (institutional sites, Wikipedia, etc.), and also influences AI’s news synthesis
What Does This Shift Mean for Stakeholders?
For News Consumers
AI-synthesized news feeds like Discover may become the go-to source for reliable, balanced updates.
- This accelerates the “Zero Click” phenomenon—users get answers without visiting publisher websites.
- As web traffic drops, news outlet ad revenues are at risk.
For Corporations and Brands
Engaging with traditional media remains essential because Earned Media influences AI visibility—even if few humans visit the portal, AI does.
For News Publishers
New business models are crucial.
- Website traffic may decline, but publisher influence is rising because AIs regard them as high-authority sources.
- The communication landscape is increasingly AI-driven—understanding how to maintain visibility is now a strategic issue.
Embracing AI Visibility and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
Maverick’s Perspective:
To succeed, the public, business communicators, and publishers must prioritize:
- AI Visibility: Ensuring that your stories are accessible and authoritative for AI crawlers
- Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): Structuring content, reputation, and engagement for the AI search era
Learn More About AI Literacy with MavGEO
Many organizations struggle to keep pace with these rapid changes. That’s why Maverick has launched AI Literacy Programs and MavGEO workshops, tailored to empower enterprises, brands, and publishers.
Interested in mastering AI Visibility and GEO?
Contact Maverick to book an appointment or learn more about our end-to-end solutions.
