TIME Magazine's AI Chatbot: A Step Forward or a Missed Opportunity?

I was going to open with a joke—“It was only a matter of TIME”—but let’s be honest: no one actually saw this coming.
TIME launched an AI chatbot for their Person of the Year archives.
And what did we get?
A text search.
In a chat box.
So we can… read more text.
In a slightly shinier box.
I get it - the intent is solid:
“If AI is going to speak on our behalf, we want it to speak with our voice.”
YES. 👏👏👏
But then... you give us text search in a chat box.
So we can read more text.
In a slightly shinier box.
If you say "voice," you better mean VOICE.
Otherwise, you’re building features over user expectations, not user behavior.
🎙️ What if TIME used AI to literally speak?
→ A TIME avatar that narrates Person of the Year stories.
→ A dynamic podcast that blends editorial with real-time Q&A.
→ Or a YouTube series hosted by “AI Walter Cronkite” (ok maybe not him, but you get it 😄).
This isn’t about tech for tech’s sake.
It’s about meeting your audience where they are, not where your CMS lives.
→ Great products don’t just deliver value.
→ They adapt to how people consume it.
→ And they iterate based on curiosity, not just capability.
So dear TIME - love the ambition.
But if you’re going to unlock your archives with AI…
Why not make them talk, move, sing, dance, breathe?
In a world where AI can generate hyper-real video, lip-sync interviews, and emotional avatars —
Let’s not stop at “text, but chat-shaped.”
✨ Because the future of content isn’t just interactive.
It’s immersive.
It’s alive.
It’s Agile.
And hey - if you’d asked ChatGPT, it probably would've told you the same thing 😉
🕰️ It’s TIME to level up.
🧠 TIME Introduces AI Chatbot for Person of the Year Content
🧠 TIME's AI Chatbot: From Archives to Intimacy
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