Rianette Cluley, Media Project Manager at TUKO.co.ke and Briefly News, represented Legit at the 2026 INMA Africa Newsroom & Tech Summit, detailing the media group’s progressive adoption of artificial intelligence in newsroom operations.
The virtual summit, organized by the International News Media Association (INMA), brought together media leaders from across Africa to explore innovations reshaping digital journalism.
From Early AI Experiments to Custom Tools
Cluley traced Legit’s AI journey beginning in 2022 with initial experiments using ChatGPT. Early challenges included technical glitches and inefficiencies due to shared AI accounts and costly scaling.
Learning from these setbacks, Legit developed a structured six-step rollout process for AI tools: identifying needs, researching options, gathering feedback, piloting with small groups, optimizing, and full deployment.
Impact on Reporting and Productivity
A standout example shared by Cluley involved a Briefly News reporter who, after integrating AI-assisted copy editing and expert sourcing in 2024, increased his weekly pageviews by 157%. By 2025, with access to tools like Marfeel CoPilot and Pressroom, he improved output quality and work-life balance.
Legit also uses AI-driven analytics to monitor writers’ performance by comparing generated revenue to costs, enabling early intervention to enhance productivity.
Cluley’s AI Leadership and Ethical Focus
Bringing deep expertise, Cluley has participated in the Journalism AI Academy, Thomson Reuters Foundation mentorship, and AI panels. She previously hosted webinars on ethical AI use in journalism, emphasizing responsible adoption.
Concluding her summit presentation, she urged newsrooms to carefully assess genuine needs, involve staff in AI tool selection, and collaborate with industry peers to successfully integrate AI technologies.
About Legit
Legit is a leading digital media group in Sub-Saharan Africa comprising four brands: Legit.ng (Nigeria), TUKO.co.ke (Kenya), YEN.com.gh (Ghana), and Briefly News (South Africa). The group reaches over 43 million monthly pageviews and 40 million social followers through a team of more than 350 journalists.
