CNET (Red Ventures)
CNET pauses AI-written finance explainers after errors found in published articles
From November 2022 CNET Money published finance explainers drafted with an AI engine, about 75 by mid-January 2023. After outside reporting exposed factual errors, CNET put the articles under review and suspended the practice, according to The Batch.
Key figures
Copied exactly from the sources. Copy any figure with its citation.
about 75
AI-assisted explainers published since November, per CNET's editor-in-chief on January 16, 20231
78
Generated articles published before the program was halted, per The Batch3
$10,300
First-year earnings the original compound-interest article stated for a $10,000 deposit at 3 percent (the correct figure is $300 per Engadget)2
What it took
Cost, team size and timeline were not disclosed in the sources.
The problem
CNET Money covers basic personal-finance questions, such as what compound interest is, with its busy staff of reporters and editors. CNET decided to test whether an AI engine could help produce these explainers.
What they built
An internal AI engine used by the CNET Money team to draft explainers, which editors then reviewed. According to The Batch, the model is unnamed and was built by CNET's parent company, Red Ventures, which also used it for other sites it owns, including Bankrate and CreditCards.com.
How they did it
The team began trying the tool in November 2022. CNET's editor-in-chief wrote on January 16, 2023 that the engine compiled drafts or gathered information, and an editor with topical expertise reviewed, fact-checked and edited each article before publication. The articles first ran under a "CNET Money Staff" byline; after outside reporting, CNET changed the byline and moved its disclosure to make it more visible. The sources give no cost or team size.
Results
CNET reported about 75 such articles by mid-January 2023. Futurism, a rival outlet, found serious errors in one of them, a compound-interest explainer that overstated first-year earnings on a $10,000 deposit. Engadget reports the article was corrected and that errors also appeared in explanations of loan interest and certificates of deposit.
What went wrong
CNET added a note on its AI-written stories saying they were under review for accuracy and that errors would be corrected. The Batch reports that CNET suspended the practice after 78 generated articles. A CNET spokesperson told Futurism, as quoted by Engadget, that the company was actively reviewing all its AI-assisted pieces.
Lessons for your project
Review before you publish, not after. CNET says editors checked each piece, yet outside reporters still found errors in a basic explainer.
Disclose AI use prominently from day one. CNET changed the byline and moved its disclosure only after the practice drew attention.
Pilot on low-risk content. Finance advice, even basic, carries real consequences when numbers are wrong.
Set an accuracy check for numbers and a plagiarism check for generated text, and define what triggers a pause.
Caveats
- CNET called the work an experiment and described its process as an AI assist reviewed by editors. Its editor-in-chief's note is the company's account; Engadget and The Batch are independent reports.
- The count of articles differs by source: about 75 (CNET and Engadget, mid-January 2023) and 78 (The Batch). Both are shown with their source.
- The model is not named. The Batch calls it an unnamed proprietary model built by Red Ventures, CNET's parent company; CNET itself calls it an AI engine.
- The pause is reported by The Batch, which cites The Verge. The CNET and Engadget pages read for this entry describe a review of the articles, not a pause.
- The Batch also reports instances of possible plagiarism and says insiders described the articles as aimed at search traffic and affiliate revenue; those are the outlet's reporting, not CNET's statements.
Sources
- CNET Is Experimenting With an AI Assist. Here's Why
CNET · 2023-01-16 · Company blog · cnet.com
- CNET is reviewing its AI-written articles after being notified of serious errors
Engadget · 2023-01-18 · News · engadget.com
- CNET Pauses its Practice of Writing News Articles With AI
The Batch (DeepLearning.AI) · 2023-01-25 · News · deeplearning.ai
Summarized in our own words from the sources above. Spotted an error? See corrections.