Arc XP Introduces Ask The News for Publisher-Controlled AI Answers

Arc XP, the technology arm of The Washington Post, announced in a press release the launch of Ask The News, a tool that allows news organizations to embed AI question-answering features directly within their own digital platforms. The system uses each publisher's reporting to provide verified responses to reader queries.

Ask The News is designed to help publishers retain their audience and data as readers increasingly rely on AI services like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews for information. According to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2026, only four percent of AI chatbot users click through to the original news source compared to 19 percent from traditional search.

The platform enables publishers to manage engagements, collect reader intent data, and generate ad signals without involving third parties. Features include conversational embeds that present dynamically suggested questions, a subscription system that triggers after several answers, and contextual advertising that interprets reader interests in real time. Ask The News is available to Arc XP partners and can also be deployed independently through a JavaScript integration.

Arc XP plans to extend the tool into a larger intelligence platform with capabilities for personalized briefings, saved inquiries, and editorial analytics.