The Revenue Room™ with Lucky Gunasekara

The Revenue Room™, by H2K Labs

Episode Overview: In this episode of The Revenue Room™, host Heather Holst-Knudsen sits down with Lucky Gunasekara, CEO of Miso.AI, to explore the intersection of AI and media, and how Miso.AI is driving innovation for publishers, news media, and online education. The conversation touches on topics like personalized AI search, increasing audience engagement, and creating new revenue streams for media companies using AI.

Key Discussion Points:

1. Introduction of Miso.AI:
   • Miso.AI is described as a hands-on AI media lab specializing in news media, publishing, and online education.
   • Lucky shares how Miso works with publishers to implement AI-powered search, personalized recommendations, and real-time data insights to optimize user engagement and revenue.
2. AI in Publishing:
   • Lucky discusses the innovative “Answers” product used by media companies like Foundry and O'Reilly Media. This AI-based search tool helps readers find answers to their queries directly within the publishers' archives, reducing the need for traditional search.
   • He highlights how AI is transforming reader engagement by embedding relevant AI-suggested questions within articles, driving higher click-through rates and creating new advertising and content marketing opportunities.
3. Revenue Impact of AI:
   • The use of AI-powered tools like “Answers” has led to significant improvements in both advertising inventory and lead generation, with click-through rates for native ads reaching 10-25 times higher than traditional display ads.
   • Subscription models are also seeing growth, with some media companies doubling registrations by gating certain AI features behind subscription walls.
4. Ethical AI and Media Compensation:
   • Lucky and Heather dive into the important question of fair compensation for media content in the age of AI. Lucky argues that publishers should be compensated more fairly, comparing the AI-media relationship to the music industry’s use of royalties.
   • O'Reilly Media’s forward-thinking approach to paying royalties to content creators for their contributions to AI-generated answers is highlighted as a pioneering model.
5. The Future of AI in Media:
   • The conversation addresses the future of AI in media and how it could reshape the delivery of information. Lucky predicts a future where AI mediates personalized, trustworthy experiences, helping readers engage more deeply with content.
   • He warns against the “deal-no-deal” approach AI companies currently take with media publishers and stresses the importance of a more equitable partnership.
6. Personal Insights:
   • Lucky shares personal stories, including his love for Dune, his travels through Mongolia, and managing a startup while raising identical twin boys.

Event Promotion:

• Heather announces the upcoming RevvedUP 2025, an invitation-only event for CEOs and C-suite leaders in media and information industries. Lucky will be a featured speaker, diving deeper into AI's role in the media landscape.

ABOUT H2K LABS

H2K Labs is a tech-enabled value creation specialist that helps media, data/information, event, and marketplace businesses accelerate revenue, drive profitability, and fuel enterprise value using data, digital, and AI. We host The Revenue Room™ Podcast, curate Revenue Room™ Connect, a professional network for CEO and their revenue-critical C-Suite teams, and produce events including RevvedUP 2025.

To join Revenue Room™ Connect, please visit https://info.h2klabs.com/revenue-room-connect-information-request

To request an invitation to RevvedUP 2025, please visit https://www.h2klabs.com/revvedup

https://www.h2klabs.com